Biocompatible Polyelectrolyte Complex Nanoparticles for Lycopene Encapsulation Attenuate Oxidative Stress-Induced Cell Damage

Dongjing Zhang; Yun Jiang; Ming Xiang; Fen Wu; Min Sun; XianFeng Du; Lei Chen

doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.902208

Biocompatible Polyelectrolyte Complex Nanoparticles for Lycopene Encapsulation Attenuate Oxidative Stress-Induced Cell Damage

Front Nutr. 2022 May 27:9:902208. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.902208. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Dongjing Zhang^{1

2}, Yun Jiang¹, Ming Xiang¹, Fen Wu¹, Min Sun¹, XianFeng Du³, Lei Chen¹

Affiliations

¹ Anhui Key Laboratory of Eco-Engineering and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei, China.
² School of Biological and Food Engineering, Suzhou University, Suzhou, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China.

Abstract

In this study, lycopene was successfully encapsulated in polyelectrolyte complex nanoparticles (PEC NPs) fabricated with a negatively charged polysaccharide, TLH-3, and a positively charged sodium caseinate (SC) via electrostatic interactions. Results showed that the lycopene-loaded PEC NPs were spherical in shape, have a particle size of 241 nm, have a zeta potential of -23.6 mV, and have encapsulation efficiency of 93.6%. Thus, lycopene-loaded PEC NPs could serve as effective lycopene carriers which affected the physicochemical characteristics of the encapsulated lycopene and improved its water dispersibility, storage stability, antioxidant capacity, and sustained release ability in aqueous environments when compared with the free lycopene. Moreover, encapsulated lycopene could enhance the cells' viability, prevent cell apoptosis, and protect cells from oxidative damage through the Nrf2/HO-1/AKT signalling pathway, via upregulation of antioxidase activities and downregulation of MDA and ROS levels. Therefore, the biocompatible lycopene-loaded PEC NPs have considerable potential use for the encapsulation of hydrophobic nutraceuticals in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Keywords: PEC NPs; antioxidant capacity; lycopene; storage stability; sustained release.