Key State Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Plant Conservation and Utilization in Southern China, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Sericulture & Agri-food Research Institute Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Functional Foods, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Processing, Guangzhou 510610, China.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Mar;260(Pt 1):129361. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.129361. Epub 2024 Jan 12.
Pectin is a promising nano-carrier. The degree of methyl esterification (DM) influences the physiochemical properties of pectin. However, the effect of DM on the encapsulation capacity of pectin remains unclear. In this work, low methyl-esterified pectin (LMP) and high methyl-esterified pectin (HMP) were prepared. The molecular weight, rheological properties of these pectins with various DM levels were determined. Then icaritin/pectin micelles (IPMs) were prepared using HMP and LMP. Notably, higher loading capacities (18.75-20.12 %) were observed in HMP-IPMs compared to LMP-IPMs (15.72-16.64 %). Furthermore, LMP-IPMs demonstrated a DM-dependent reduction in particle sizes, ranging from 449 to 527 nm. In contrast, the particle sizes of HMP-IPMs varied between 342 and 566 nm, with smaller particle sizes observed in HMP-IPMs at higher DM levels. A significant positive correlation was found between DM and the formation of IPMs, including encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity, Zeta potential, and polydispersity index. Alkali de-esterification showed a weak impact on the pectin structure. Hydroxyl groups like 7-OH and 5-OH of icaritin might be involved in the formation of IPMs. The hydrogen-bond interactions between pectin and icaritin could be enhanced as DM increased.
果胶是一种很有前途的纳米载体。酯化度（DM）影响果胶的物理化学性质。然而，DM 对果胶包封能力的影响尚不清楚。在这项工作中，制备了低甲基酯化果胶（LMP）和高甲基酯化果胶（HMP）。测定了这些具有不同 DM 水平的果胶的分子量和流变性能。然后使用 HMP 和 LMP 制备了淫羊藿素/果胶胶束（IPMs）。值得注意的是，与 LMP-IPMs（15.72-16.64%）相比，HMP-IPMs 具有更高的载药量（18.75-20.12%）。此外，LMP-IPMs 的粒径随 DM 的降低而减小，范围从 449 到 527nm。相比之下，HMP-IPMs 的粒径在 342nm 到 566nm 之间变化，在较高的 DM 水平下观察到较小的粒径。发现 DM 与 IPMs 的形成之间存在显著的正相关，包括包封效率、载药量、Zeta 电位和多分散指数。碱解酯对果胶结构的影响较弱。可能涉及 IPMs 形成的是淫羊藿素的 7-OH 和 5-OH 等羟基。随着 DM 的增加，果胶和淫羊藿素之间的氢键相互作用可能增强。
