Investigating the role of hyaluronic acid in improving curcumin bioaccessibility from nanoemulsions

Aixa Aguilera-Garrido; Teresa Del Castillo-Santaella; Francisco Galisteo-González; María José Gálvez-Ruiz; Julia Maldonado-Valderrama

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.129301

Investigating the role of hyaluronic acid in improving curcumin bioaccessibility from nanoemulsions

Food Chem. 2021 Jul 30:351:129301. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.129301. Epub 2021 Feb 15.

Authors

Aixa Aguilera-Garrido¹, Teresa Del Castillo-Santaella², Francisco Galisteo-González³, María José Gálvez-Ruiz⁴, Julia Maldonado-Valderrama⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, Avenida de Fuente Nueva, s/n, Granada C.P. 18071, Spain. Electronic address: aixaag@ugr.es.
² Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, Avenida de Fuente Nueva, s/n, Granada C.P. 18071, Spain. Electronic address: tdelcastillo@ugr.es.
³ Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, Avenida de Fuente Nueva, s/n, Granada C.P. 18071, Spain. Electronic address: galisteo@ugr.es.
⁴ Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, Avenida de Fuente Nueva, s/n, Granada C.P. 18071, Spain; Excellence Research Unit "Modeling Nature" (MNat), University of Granada, Avda. del Hospicio, s/n, Granada C.P. 18010, Spain. Electronic address: mjgalvez@ugr.es.
⁵ Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, Avenida de Fuente Nueva, s/n, Granada C.P. 18071, Spain; Excellence Research Unit "Modeling Nature" (MNat), University of Granada, Avda. del Hospicio, s/n, Granada C.P. 18010, Spain. Electronic address: julia@ugr.es.

PMID: 33639433
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.129301

Abstract

A major challenge in delivering curcumin effectively to the gut is its low solubility. One interesting approach to increase curcumin bioaccessibility is its emulsification. Here, we present curcumin-loaded liquid lipid nanocapsules (LLNs), obtained through olive oil emulsification, in which LLNs are coated by a protective shell composed of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) and hyaluronic acid (HA). Bioaccessibility of curcumin is evaluated following a standard in vitro digestion protocol. The presence of HA in the shell increases the amount of curcumin retained in the LLNs after in vitro gastric digestion from ~25% to ~85%. This protective effect occurs when HA binds to BSA in the shell. Moreover, this binding appears to be reinforced under gastric conditions, hence evidencing the crucial role of interfacial composition in protecting encapsulated curcumin. Interfacial engineering of nanoemulsions provides a route to improve the bioaccessibility of encapsulated curcumin at different stages in the gut.

Keywords: Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA); Curcumin; Digestion; Hyaluronic acid (HA); Interfacial layer; Nanoemulsion.

MeSH terms

Biological Availability
Curcumin / pharmacokinetics*
Digestion*
Emulsions / chemistry*
Humans
Hyaluronic Acid / pharmacology*
Lipids
Nanocapsules / chemistry

Substances

Emulsions
Lipids
Nanocapsules
Hyaluronic Acid
Curcumin