Co-encapsulation of collagen peptide and astaxanthin in W/O/W double emulsions-filled alginate hydrogel beads: Fabrication, characterization and digestion behaviors.

The double emulsions-filled hydrogel beads delivery systems with controlled lipolysis and sustained-release property of co-encapsulated bioactive substances will be highly desired. Herein, the water-in-oil-in-water emulsion with gelled inner water phase and oil phase (W/O/W) filled hydrogel beads as a novel co-delivery system were developed with varied concentrations of rice bran wax and W/O emulsions to achieve effectively controlled release of lipolysis and nutraceuticals. Interestingly, the gelation of oil phase triggered by rice bran wax could enhance the storage stability of W/O/W emulsions due to the enhanced viscoelastic property. Increasing the mass fractions of W/O emulsions improved the stability of double emulsions due to increased viscosity and decreased particle size. Cryo-SEM observation showed that the double emulsion droplets were scattered in the three-dimensional network of alginate gel beads. Increased the addition of rice bran wax or W/O emulsions, the encapsulation efficiency of collagen peptide and astaxanthin was significantly improved. The in vitro digestion results indicated that increasing the concentrations of rice bran wax and W/O emulsion fractions in W/O/W emulsion-filled gel beads could effectively delay the release extent of free fatty acids and encapsulated nutraceuticals. The presence of rice bran wax contributed to increase the bioaccessibility of collagen peptide and astaxanthin.