Characterization and antioxidant activity of dihydromyricetin-lecithin complex

Dihydromyricetin is a natural antioxidant with good prospects in food industry. But its poor lipophilic property limits its application in lipophilic food. In this study, the dihydromyricetin-lecithin complex was prepared to improve the hydrophobicity of dihydromyricetin. The physicochemical properties of the complex were analyzed by ultraviolet-visible spectrometry, infrared spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffractometry. The result showed that dihydromyricetin and lecithin in the complex were combined by non-covalent bond, did not form a new compound and the solubility of dihydromyricetin in n-octanol was significantly enhanced. It was found that the dihydromyricetin-lecithin complex was an effective scavenger of DPPH radicals with an IC₅₀ of 22.60 μg/mL. In the Rancimat antioxidant test using lard oil as substrate, the performance of the complex with protection factor of 6.67 was superior to that of butylated hydroxytoluene with protection factor of 5.54.