Bioaccessibility of β-Lactoglobulin Nanoemulsions Containing Coenzyme Q: Impact of Droplet Size on the Bioaccessibility of Coenzyme Q.

The aims of this research were to examine the effect of heating temperature (65, 75, and 85℃) and CaCl concentration level (3, 4, and 5 mM) on the physicochemical properties of β-lactoglobulin (β-lg) nanoemulsions (NEs) and to study how the droplet size of NEs affects the bioaccessibility (BA) of coenzyme Q (CoQ). The droplet size of NEs and BA of CoQ was assessed by particle size analyzer and UV-Vis spectrophotometer, respectively. An increase in heating temperature and CaCl concentration level resulted in a significant (p<0.05) increase in the droplet size of NEs while there were no significant differences in polydispersity index and zeta-potential of NEs. When NEs containing CoQ were incubated in simulated small intestinal phases, an increase in the droplet size and polydispersity index of NEs was observed. This indicated that NEs were not stable in small intestine and digestion of NEs occurred. As heating temperature and CaCl concentration level were decreased, a significant (p<0.05) increase in BA of CoQ was observed. There was a significant (p<0.05) increase in BA of CoQ with a decrease in the droplet size of NEs. In conclusion, heating temperature and CaCl concentration level were key-parameters affecting the initial droplet size of NEs and BA of CoQ was negatively correlated with initial droplet size of NEs.