Entrapment of Ellagic Acid in Dairy Protein-Based Nanoparticles

Ellagic acid (EA) is a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound in vegetables, nuts, and fruits such as berries. EA has antioxidant, anticancer, anti-allergy, and anti-inflammatory activities. The objectives of this research were to investigate the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles before and after nano-encapsulation of EA in dairy protein and to develop a functional (anti-inflammatory) dairy protein-based beverage containing EA. A particle size analyzer was used to determine the physicochemical and morphological properties. High performance liquid chromatography was used to evaluate the entrapment efficiency of EA. The nanoparticles containing EA were 100 to 200 nm in diameter. The determined poly dispersity index value of 0.3 to 0.4 indicated that the nanoparticles were uniformly distributed with similar size. Zeta-potential values were also similar between the control groups. The entrapment efficiency of EA was nearly 90%. The results indicate the potential for development of nanoparticles containing EA beverage products with anti-inflammatory activity.