Characteristics, physicochemical stability and in vitro release of curcumin-loaded glycated bovine serum albumin nanofibrils: Effects of molecular weight of saccharide

The goal of this study is to fabricate glycated bovine serum albumin nanofibrils as efficient curcumin nanodelivery systems to enhance its water solubility, storage stability against environmental stress, chemical stability and in vitro antioxidant activity, which can widely be applied in real food products. Glycosylation exhibited almost no impacts on the morphology of bovine serum albumin nanofibril as revealed by atomic force microscopy, regardless of saccharide types. Glycated bovine serum albumin nanofibrils possessed nanometric diameter (less than 15 nm) and micrometric length (1-1.5 mu m). Glycation further enhanced the surface hydrophobicity of bovine serum albumin nanofibrils and its curcumin binding capacity. Water solubility of curcumin was sharply enhanced with bovine serum albumin nanofibril-based nanocarriers and curcumin-bovine serum albumin nanofibrils-glucose exhibited the highest aqueous solubility (50.2%). There was a strong positive proportion between curcumin solubility and surface hydrophobicity of bovine serum albumin nanofibril-based nanocarriers. Fluorescence data demonstrated that the formation of curcumin-glycated bovine serum albumin nanofibril nanocomposites was mainly through hydrophobic interactions. All three glycated bovine serum albumin nanofibrils were resistant to pH variation, high salt and heating. The chemical stability of curcumin was remarkably enhanced through glycation and there was a negative correlation between the chemical stability of curcumin and molecular weight of saccharides. Antioxidant capacities (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity and reducing power) of curcumin were dramatically soared through complexation with three glycated bovine serum albumin nanofibrils and the antioxidant activity of glycated bovine serum albumin nanofibril was negatively correlated with the molecular weight of saccharides. The release of curcumin in bovine serum albumin nanofibril nanocomposites could be controlled through glycation. Generally, this research indicates that the glycated bovine serum albumin nanofibril would be employed to load, stabilize, and deliver hydrophobic nutraceuticals and expand the food application.