Whey protein isolate-gelatin nanoparticles enable the water-dispersibility and potentialize the antioxidant activity of quinoa oil (Chenopodium quinoa)

PLoS One. 2020 Oct 30;15(10):e0240889. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240889. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

The quinoa oil presents benefits to health, but its low water dispersibility in the aqueous matrix and instability of bioactive compounds is challenging for food application. This study performed the physicochemical and chemical characterization of quinoa oil and evaluated its water dispersibility and 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical scavenging activity after nanoencapsulation in porcine gelatin and combination with whey protein isolate by emulsification O/W technique. Thus, three formulations were obtained: 1) OG-containing quinoa oil and porcine gelatin in aqueous phase 2; 2) OWG1-containing quinoa oil, whey protein isolate, and porcine gelatin in aqueous phase 2; and 3) OWG2-containing quinoa oil and whey protein isolate in aqueous phase 1, and porcine gelatin in aqueous phase 2. The oil characterization showed that quinoa oil presented the predominance of linoleic acid (53.4%), and concentration of alpha and gamma-tocopherol, respectively, of 8.56 and 6.28 mg.100g-1. All formulations presented a smooth surface without depression or cracking, an average diameter between 165.77 and 529.70 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated chemical interaction between the encapsulating agents and the oil in all formulations, being more intensified in OWG1 and OWG2. Based on this, these formulations showed higher dispersibility in aqueous solution [68% (3.48) and 71% (2.97)]. This resulted in higher antioxidant activity for OWG1 and OWG2, showing the amounts that reduces antioxidant activity by 50% equal to 5.30 (0.19) mg/mL and 5.54 (0.27) mg/mL, respectively, compared to quinoa oil [13.36 (0.28) mg/mL] (p < 0.05). Thus, quinoa oil nanoencapsulation proved to be an efficient alternative to enable water-dispersibility and enhance antioxidant activity, increasing its potential for application in the food industry.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antioxidants / analysis
  • Antioxidants / chemistry*
  • Chenopodium quinoa / chemistry*
  • Drug Stability
  • Food Industry
  • Gelatin / chemistry*
  • Linoleic Acid / isolation & purification
  • Nanoparticles
  • Plant Oils / analysis
  • Plant Oils / chemistry*
  • Swine
  • Water
  • Whey Proteins / chemistry*
  • alpha-Tocopherol / isolation & purification
  • gamma-Tocopherol / isolation & purification

Substances

  • Antioxidants
  • Plant Oils
  • Whey Proteins
  • Water
  • gamma-Tocopherol
  • Gelatin
  • Linoleic Acid
  • alpha-Tocopherol

Grants and funding

This study was partly financed by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001. The authors want to thank by Plantus LTDA (Nísia Floresta, Brazil) for providing the quinoa oil utilized to conduct this research. There was no additional external funding received for this study.