Bioaccessibility of oil-soluble vitamins (A, D, E) in plant-based emulsions: impact of oil droplet size

Food Funct. 2021 May 11;12(9):3883-3897. doi: 10.1039/d1fo00347j.

Abstract

We systematically investigated the impact of oil droplet diameter (≈0.15, 1.6, and 11 μm) on the bioaccessibility of three oil-soluble vitamins (vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D, and vitamin E acetate) encapsulated within soybean oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by quillaja saponin. Lipid digestion kinetics decreased with increasing droplet size due to the reduction in oil-water interfacial area. Vitamin bioaccessibility decreased with increasing droplet size from 0.15 to 11 μm: 87 to 39% for vitamin A; 76 to 44% for vitamin D; 77 to 21% for vitamin E. Vitamin bioaccessibility also decreased as their hydrophobicity and molecular weight increased, probably because their tendency to remain inside the oil droplets and/or be poorly solubilized by the mixed micelles increased. Hydrolysis of the esterified vitamins also occurred under gastrointestinal conditions: vitamin A palmitate (∼90%) and vitamin E acetate (∼3%). Consequently, the composition and structure of emulsion-based delivery systems should be carefully designed when creating vitamin-fortified functional food products.

MeSH terms

  • Biological Availability
  • Capsules
  • Digestion
  • Diterpenes / chemistry
  • Diterpenes / pharmacokinetics*
  • Drug Carriers / chemistry
  • Drug Liberation
  • Emulsions
  • Gastrointestinal Tract / physiology*
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • In Vitro Techniques
  • Lipid Metabolism
  • Micelles
  • Particle Size
  • Retinyl Esters / chemistry
  • Retinyl Esters / pharmacokinetics*
  • Solubility
  • Soybean Oil / chemistry
  • Vitamin D / chemistry
  • Vitamin D / pharmacokinetics*
  • Vitamin E / chemistry
  • Vitamin E / pharmacokinetics*

Substances

  • Capsules
  • Diterpenes
  • Drug Carriers
  • Emulsions
  • Micelles
  • Retinyl Esters
  • Vitamin D
  • Vitamin E
  • retinol palmitate
  • Soybean Oil