Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is easily oxidized by
environmental
stress elements, including light, heat, and oxygen; thus, its biological
activities can be reduced or even lost when exposed to a natural environment.
Here, soluble soybean polysaccharide (SSPS) was successfully etherized
by 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl trimethylammonium chloride (CHPTAC), positively
charged to extract cationic SSPS (CSSPS). Nanoparticles based on CSSPS
can improve the encapsulation efficiency (EE) and sustained bioactivity
of EGCG. The EE of EGCG by CSSPS was improved significantly as compared
with that of SSPS due to the electrostatic interactions. Furthermore,
the protective and sustained-release effects of CSSPS on EGCG in the
EGCG-CSSPS nanoparticles (EGCG-CSSPS-NPs) markedly improved the sustained
antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of EGCG, which was confirmed
by the results of a salmon-preservation experiment. In addition, cytotoxicity
tests showed that EGCG-CSSPS-NPs could effectively inhibit the proliferation
of tumor cells but had no obvious toxicity to normal cells.