Development of stable and functional encapsulated chrysin using casein–polysaccharide complexes for food applications

Abstract

Chrysin is a hydrophobic flavonoid with multiple health benefits. The various applications of chrysin are challenged by its poor solubility, instability and loss of bioactivity. Casein–chrysin complex and casein–polysaccharide–chrysin complexes have developed to overcome these limitations. Very high encapsulation efficiency of 98.23 ± 0.22% was achieved with casein–inulin–chrysin complex. The chrysin was able to form a stable casein–polysaccharide–chrysin complex suspension with a hydrodynamic diameter of 382.3 nm, zeta potential value of −12.3 mV and a Polydispersity Index (PDI) of 27.7. The antioxidant activity of chrysin increased about threefold after encapsulation. The release of chrysin from its encapsulated complexes to different buffers in the pH range of 3 to 10 was studied at 1:10 ratio. At the end of 48 h, only 6%–8% of chrysin was released in the pH range 3–4, 33%–58% at pH 5–9 and 62% at pH 10. The chrysin encapsulated in casein–inulin–chrysin complex was able to overcome the rapid release of chrysin from the casein–chrysin complex. The results indicate the successful development of a stable encapsulated chrysin complex which can overcome the various limitations of chrysin in its potential applications. © 2023 Institute of Food, Science and Technology (IFSTTF).