Effect of pH variation on physicochemical and morphological properties of Micellar Casein Concentrate and its utilisation for nanoencapsulation of curcumin

Casein (CN) is naturally a nanocarrier designed to deliver calcium and phosphate and hence has vast potential to be utilised for delivery of bio actives and therapeutics efficiently. The pH variation studies of MCC indicated that micelles open up at alkaline pH, exposing buried hydrophobic areas. Nanocapsules so designed had encapsulation efficiency of 95.80 ± 0.14% for curcumin. The in vitro digestions model showed a 98.12 ± 1.49% release of curcumin after 120 min of intestinal phase and only 6.12 ± 0.24% at end of gastric phase from nanocapsules. This indicates increased bioavailability of curcumin, without getting degraded. Global demand for functional food is increasing, and nanoencapsulation using native CN micelles could help in achieving differentiation and enhancing value of foods.