Influence of carrier oil type, particle size on in vitro lipid digestion and eugenol release in emulsion and nanoemulsions

• Published in: Food hydrocolloids Vol. 52; pp. 415 - 422
• Main Authors: Majeed, Hamid, Antoniou, John, Hategekimana, Joseph, Sharif, Hafiz Rizwan, Haider, Junaid, Liu, Fei, Ali, Barkat, Rong, Liang, Ma, Jianguo, Zhong, Fang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-01-2016
• Subjects: Bioaccesibility; Digestibility; Droplet size; Emulsion; Eugenol; Nanoemulsion; Bioaccesibility; Droplet size; Emulsion; Eugenol; Nanoemulsion; Digestibility
• ISSN: 0268-005X; 1873-7137
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodhyd.2015.07.009

Consumption of essential oils (EOs) and their components, such as eugenol (EU) may reduce chronic disorders, but their use in food is currently limited because of poor solubility and low bioavailability. The aim of this work was to study the influence of carrier oil type, particle size on in vitro lipid digestion and EU release using canola (LCT) and MCT oil-in-water emulsions with different droplet diameters (Coarse > 3000 nm, NE1 > 300 nm and NE2 > 150 nm). There was a progressive increase in the mean particle size of coarse emulsions of both LCT & MCT oils as they passed through simulated gastrointestinal tract consisting of mouth, stomach and intestine phases, which was due to droplet coalescence, flocculation and digestion. However, NE1 and NE2 nanoemulsions showed appreciable increase in particle size after exposure to the simulated intestinal fluid. The rate and extent of in vitro lipid digestion increased with decreasing mean droplet diameter (NE2 ≈ NE1 » Coarse) in both MCT & LCT emulsions. However, MCT emulsions showed faster rate of in vitro lipid digestion which was attributed to more exposure of droplets with the lipase. There was also an appreciable increase in release percentage of eugenol with decreasing droplet diameter (NE2 > NE1 > Coarse) and it was higher in LCT (84%) emulsions which was attributed to large hydrophobic cores that better solubilize EU.
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•A model gastrointestinal tract (mouth, stomach, intestine) was used to test emulsions.•Small emulsions of LCT & MCT oils remained stable within mouth and stomach phase.•Eugenol release was higher in LCT small emulsion.•Release percentage depended on carrier oil type and emulsion droplet size.