| 초록 |
Phytochemicals, abundant in plant kingdom, have attracted significant attention in food, nutritional, and pharmaceutical sciences due to its beneficial roles against multiple diseases including, cancers, coronary heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, inflammation, and ulcer. However, phytochemicals poor aqueous solubility and stability lead to its extremely low absorption in human body. In this study, we designed protein nanostructures as carrier for phytochemicals to overcome its inherent limitations. Spectroscopic investigation demonstrates that phytochemicals can successfully bind with proteins mainly through hydrophobic interactions, and results in nanocomplexes with minimum size and polydispersity. Due to its binding with proteins, phytochemicals gained stronger aqueous stability for wide range of time, which would be sufficient for providing its beneficial biological properties. Improved antibacterial and antioxidant activities of encapsulated phytochemicals were also confirmed in the study. Results suggest that protein nanostructures have great potential for the integration of bioactive ingredients into food and pharmaceuticals products. |
