The fortification of encapsulated soy isoflavones and texture modification of soy milk by α-lactalbumin nanotubes

Bin Liu; Caroline Thum; Qimeng Wang; Chunsong Feng; Ting Li; Francesca Damiani Victorelli; Xing Li; Ruxin Chang; Shanan Chen; Yifu Gong; Yuan Li

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.135979

The fortification of encapsulated soy isoflavones and texture modification of soy milk by α-lactalbumin nanotubes

Food Chem. 2023 Sep 1:419:135979. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.135979. Epub 2023 Mar 28.

Authors

Bin Liu¹, Caroline Thum², Qimeng Wang³, Chunsong Feng³, Ting Li⁴, Francesca Damiani Victorelli⁵, Xing Li³, Ruxin Chang³, Shanan Chen³, Yifu Gong³, Yuan Li⁶

Affiliations

¹ Research Center of Food Colloids and Delivery of Functionality, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China; Department of Nutrition and Health, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, PR China.
² Smart Foods & Bioproducts, AgResearch, Grasslands Research Centre, Tennent Drive, Private Bag 11008, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
³ Research Center of Food Colloids and Delivery of Functionality, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China.
⁴ National Engineering Research Center for Cereal Fermentation and Food Biomanufacturing, Jiangnan University, Lihu Road 1800, Wuxi 214122, China.
⁵ Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland.
⁶ Research Center of Food Colloids and Delivery of Functionality, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China. Electronic address: yuanli@cau.edu.cn.

PMID: 37030206
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.135979

Abstract

Nanocarriers can improve the dispersibility of hydrophobic bioactive compounds and potentially improve the texture of liquid food formulations. Here, nanotubes (NTs) with a high aspect ratio formed by self-assembly of peptides partially hydrolyzed from α-lactalbumin (α-lac) were used to deliver soy isoflavones (IFs) and modify soy milk texture. IFs encapsulated by nanotube (NT/IFs) via hydrophobic interactions, which had improved dispersibility, with a maximum loading efficiency of 4%. The rheological characterization showed that the nanotubes enhanced the viscoelastic property and long term-stability of soy milk. About 80% of the NT/IFs in soy milk survived simulated in in vitro gastric digestion promoting the release of IFs in the intestinal phase. Overall, this work demonstrated that α-lac nanotubes may be a multi-functional carrier system for hydrophobic compounds providing beneficial changes to functional food texture.

Keywords: Encapsulation; Nanocarriers; Soy isoflavones; Stability; Texture modification; α-Lactalbumin nanotubes.

MeSH terms

Functional Food
Isoflavones* / analysis
Ketones
Lactalbumin
Nanotubes / chemistry
Soy Milk* / chemistry

Substances

Isoflavones
Ketones
Lactalbumin