Enhanced stability and transdermal delivery of naringin via Dendrobium officinale polysaccharide- phosphorylated zein nanoparticles

Environmental oxidative stress critically drives skin aging and damage. Although the natural flavonoid naringin (NAR) offers significant antioxidant and anti-aging potential, its cosmeceutical application is limited by poor solubility and stability. To address this, we engineered Dendrobium officinale polysaccharide (DOP)-coated phosphorylated zein (P-Zein) nanoparticles (DOP-PZ-NAR) for NAR encapsulation. Optimized nanoparticles exhibited uniform spherical morphology (92.9–157.0 nm) with exceptional drug-loading performance (encapsulation efficiency: 87.50 %). DOP-PZ encapsulation significantly enhanced NAR photostability, increasing retention from 62.40 % to 84.30 % after 12 h of UV exposure, and significantly improved in vitro antioxidant efficacy (> 86 % ABTS, > 80 % DPPH at 500 μg/mL NAR equivalent). Furthermore, DOP-PZ encapsulation significantly enhanced transdermal delivery, achieving a 3.42-fold increase in cumulative NAR permeation versus free NAR while enabling deeper skin penetration. Notably, in vivo zebrafish assays confirmed DOP-PZ-NAR NPs were non-toxic and elicited a potent melanin-inhibitory effect (67.23 % reduction at 30 μg/mL NAR equivalent). This study demonstrates DOP-PZ-NAR NPs as a multifunctional platform for stabilizing hydrophobic antioxidants and enhancing their cutaneous bioavailability, while offering novel insights for developing next-generation cosmeceutical formulations.