Developing biopolymer-stabilized emulsions for improved stability and bioaccessibility of lutein

Lutein is essential for infant visual and cognitive development but has low stability and solubility. This study aimed to enhance the stability and bioaccessibility of lutein using oil -in -water emulsions stabilized with biopolymers. Commercially available octenylsuccinylated (OS) starches, including capsule TA (R) (CTA), HI-CAP (R) 100 (HC), and Purity Gum (R) 2000 (PG), along with gum Arabic (GA) variants Ticaloid acacia Max (R) (TAM), TICAmulsion (R) 3020 (TM), and pre-hydrate gum Arabic (PHGA), were chosen as emulsifiers. By screening the effect of biopolymer concentration and oil volume fraction (phi), emulsions stabilized with CTA, HC, or TM at 20% and 30% (w/v) concentration and 70% phi exhibited a gel-like structure and were selected for further assessments. After a week at 25 C, emulsions stabilized by CTA and HC showed no significant change in droplet size, while TM emulsion exhibited a 1.58-fold increase. At 45 C, all emulsions exhibited increase in droplet size. Lutein retention is higher in CTA emulsions at both storage temperatures than free lutein. In vitro bioaccessibility of all lutein emulsions was higher than that of free lutein. These findings highlight the superior stability and bioaccessibility of the lutein emulsion stabilized by OS starch, positioning it as a promising carrier to broaden lutein applications in infant foods.