Polysaccharides are considered to be highly stable, nontoxic, hydrophilic, biodegradable, and biocompatible, coupled with the diverse chemical functions they contain, making them promising biomaterials for the development of nutrient delivery systems. In this study, we prepared zein-Mesona chinensis polysaccharide (MCP) nanoparticles by antisolvent precipitation. Zien and MCP self-assembly formed smooth spherical nanoparticles (Z-M NPs) under hydrophobic, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic interactions. Results showed that MCP concentration (0% to 0.2%), pH (3 to 7), and addition sequence have a great effect on the particle size (165 to 463 nm), potential (-18.46 to -38.6 mV), and rheological properties of Z-M NPs. Moreover, Z-M NPs had good redispersibility and favorable encapsulation efficiency (92.8%) for quercetin. Compared with free quercetin, quercetin-loaded Z-M NPs significantly downregulated the expression of NO, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in RAW264.7 induced by lipopolysaccharide, which resulted in higher in vitro anti-inflammatory activity. Therefore, Z-M NPs have the potential to be applied to encapsulate hydrophobic natural phytochemicals as food-based functional biomaterials.
Keywords: Mesona chinensis polysaccharide; encapsulation; nanoparticle; quercetin; zein.