Fabrication and characterization of octenyl succinic anhydride modified pullulan micelles for encapsulating curcumin.

BACKGROUND Curcumin (Cur) has become increasingly popular in functional foods and beverages field due to its high biological activity. Nevertheless, the application of curcumin is usually limited by its poor water solubility, low absorption, rapid metabolism and instability. So developing an appropriate wall material is crucial for its effective use. In the study, curcumin-octenyl succinic anhydride modified pullulan (Cur-OSAP) micelles were successfully prepared by anti-solvent co-precipitation method. RESULTS Octenyl succinic anhydride modified pullulan (OSAP) micelles exhibited the highest EE (57.31%) and LC (5.73%) of curcumin when the mass ratio of OSAP to curcumin was 10:1 and DS of OSAP was 0.0469, at which the Cur-OSAP micelles formed via hydrogen binding and hydrophobic interactions, as confirmed by FT-IR and fluorescence technique. The TEM results showed that the Cur-OSAP micelles were roughly spherical in shape and range in diameters of approximately 30-60 nm. CONCLUSION The encapsulation of OSAP greatly improved photostability and sustained release properties of curcumin in Cur-OSAP micelles. These findings suggest that OSAP can be used as a carrier to encapsulate and protect hydrophobic food ingredients. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.