Beta-Carotene Chemical Stability in Nanoemulsions Was Improved by Stabilized with Beta-Lactoglobulin–Catechin Conjugates through Free Radical Method

Beta-lactoglobulin (BLG)–catechin conjugates were prepared by a free radical method and investigated with sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and far-UV circular dichroism (CD). Covalent binding between BLG and catechin were confirmed with SDS-PAGE and ESI-MS. About 93% of beta-lactoglobulin was conjugated with catechin or catecin fragments according to the gel intensity analysis software. Far-UV CD results showed that the content of β-sheet decreased with a corresponding increase in unordered structures after grafting. Both nanoemulsions with mean particle size between 160 and 170 nm were prepared. Both the rate of particle growth and the total beta-carotene (BC) loss at 50 °C were significantly greater than at 4 and 25 °C. The retention rates of BC in nanoemulsions were 27.8% and 48.6% for BLG and BLG–catechin conjugates, respectively, after 30 days of storage at 50 °C. The BC retention encapsulated in nanoemulsion was significantly improved using BLG–catechin conjugates, compared with BLG alone. The increase of BC retention in nanoemulsions encapsulated with BLG–catechin conjugates was due to the significant improvement of antioxidative properties (reducing power, free radical scavenging activity, and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity) of BLG after covalent binding with catechin. The results indicated that the proteins modified with polyphenols can be widely used in a labile bioactive compounds encapsulation delivery system.