In Vitro Bioaccessibility of Low‐Crystallinity Phytosterol Nanoparticles Generated Using Nanoporous Starch Bioaerogels

Abstract

Phytosterols are natural health‐promoting bioactive compounds; however, phytosterols have very limited bioavailability due to their crystalline lipophilic structure. With the aim of improving bioaccessibility, low‐crystallinity phytosterol nanoparticles were generated by supercritical carbon dioxide (SC‐CO2) impregnation of phytosterols into nanoporous starch aerogels (NSAs). The in vitro bioaccessibility of the phytosterol nanoparticles (35%) was significantly higher than that of the crude phytosterols (3%) after sequential oral, gastric, and intestinal digestion. The percentages of starch hydrolysis were not different among the various NSA preparations and reached to 64% after sequential digestion. The zeta potential of the phytosterol nanoparticles was higher compared to that of crude phytosterols in the micellar phase; indicating higher stability. The findings of this study support the use of NSA to produce nanoparticles of reduced crystallinity to improve the bioaccessibility of the lipophilic bioactive compounds. Practical Applications This novel process can decrease the size and crystallinity of phytosterols and thus improve phytosterols’ bioavailability. It is a blueprint to apply to other water insoluble food bioactives. This novel approach may (i) improve the health benefits of water‐insoluble bioactives; (ii) enable food manufacturers to add water‐insoluble bioactives into low‐ and high‐fat foods to produce health‐promoting foods; and (iii) enhance the cost‐benefit ratio of water insoluble bioactives.

Polysaccharide‐based porous biopolymers for enhanced bioaccessibility and bioavailability of bioactive food compounds: Challenges, advances, and opportunities

“…By impregnating curcumin into the porous starch matrix, curcumin's particle size and crystallinity were reduced, and, in turn, its bioaccessibility was enhanced by 173‐fold (Figure 4) (Ubeyitogullari & Ciftci, 2019b). Similarly, the bioaccessibility of phytosterols was improved from 3% to 35% when impregnated into starch aerogels (Ubeyitogullari et al., 2019). However, the impregnation of phytosterols was carried out after SC‐CO 2 drying using an SC‐CO 2 impregnation technique, where phytosterols were dissolved in SC‐CO 2 , then diffused into the nanoporous structure of the starch aerogels, and finally precipitated in the matrix by decreasing the temperature and pressure of SC‐CO 2 (Ubeyitogullari & Ciftci, 2016b; Ubeyitogullari, Moreau, Rose, & Ciftci, 2019).…”

“…Similarly, the bioaccessibility of phytosterols was improved from 3% to 35% when impregnated into starch aerogels (Ubeyitogullari et al., 2019). However, the impregnation of phytosterols was carried out after SC‐CO 2 drying using an SC‐CO 2 impregnation technique, where phytosterols were dissolved in SC‐CO 2 , then diffused into the nanoporous structure of the starch aerogels, and finally precipitated in the matrix by decreasing the temperature and pressure of SC‐CO 2 (Ubeyitogullari & Ciftci, 2016b; Ubeyitogullari, Moreau, Rose, & Ciftci, 2019). The recent studies utilizing aerogels for the delivery of BCs are summarized in Table 1.…”

Recent advances in the fabrication, characterization and application of starch-based materials for active food packaging: hydrogels and aerogels

“…The bioaccessibility of free phytosterols is only 3%. In the study conducted by Ubeyitogullari et al , 127 phytosterols were incorporated into nanostructured porous starch aerogels using SC-CO 2 , resulting in a 35% increase in in vitro bioaccessibility.…”

Novel encapsulation approaches for phytosterols and their importance in food products: A review

“…Bioaccessibility of phytosterols was reported to have improved from 3 to 35%. (Ubeyitogullari et al, 2019).…”