The construction of whey protein-coated OSA debranched starch particles used for curcumin steady-state delivery and pH-sensitive sustained release

In this study, we successfully prepared Octenyl succinic anhydride debranched starch particles (OSADBSP) and whey protein–coated OSADBSP (WP-OSADBSP) for loading curcumin (Cur) through ethanol precipitation and electrostatic interaction. Compared with the low encapsulation efficiency (EE) (29.50%) obtained by OSADBSP synchronous encapsulation, the encapsulation rate of Cur-loading WP-OSADBSP (WP-Cur-OSADBSP) increased to more than 78%, and when the ethanol settlement ratio was 1:2.5 (10 mL of short amylose solution was dropped into 25 mL of Cur-ethanol solution), the EE was higher (92.04%). The addition of whey protein could increase the DPPH (2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging rate of OSADBSP-Cur from 24.02% to 62.42%. All of the WP-Cur-OSADBSP (1:1, 1:1.5, 1:2, 1:2.5, 1:3) exhibited sustained release of curcumin, the percentage of the Cur release in the gastric ranges was from 4.34% to 5.65%, and the percentage of the Cur release in the intestine ranges was from 24.91% to 32.07%. The results exhibited that WP-Cur-OSADBSP could be an effective delivery method for curcumin to improve its stability, antioxidant and bioavailability. [Display omitted] •WP-OSADBSP complex had good encapsulation efficiency for Cur.•The addition of WP greatly enhanced the antioxidant activity of OSADBSP-Cur.•The WP-Cur-OSADBSP complex showed good UV stability and pH stability.•The WP-Cur-OSADBSP complex can realize targeted release of Cur in intestinal fluid.