Effect of Cordyceps militaris polysaccharide on the solubility, stability and antioxidant properties of dihydromyricetin

Dihydromyricetin (DMY) has poor solubility and stability in water, thus limiting its application. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Cordyceps militaris polysaccharide (CMP) on the solubility, stability and antioxidant activity of DMY. The solubility assay showed that the solubility of DMY in water increased approximately 3 times. The stability of DMY was increased by 1.34 times as determined by thermostatic acceleration method. The phase solubility assay showed that DMY could form AL-type inclusion complex with CMP. Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric assays of the CMP-DMY composition revealed that the binding of CMP to DMY should be attributed to the macromolecular structure, surface porous structure of CMP, and the formation of non-covalent bonding interactions. The results of in vitro antioxidant assays showed that the CMP-DMY inclusion complex inhibited DPPH, ABTS, superoxide and hydroxyl radicals by 67.24 %, 99.89 %, 41.38 % and 35.25 %, respectively. Therefore, CMP can be used as a new material to help DMY dissolution in the future, and the inclusion complex should have good prospects for application in terms of ABTS radical scavenging efficacy.