Renatured β-1,3-1,6-Glucan Nanoparticles Enhance the Aqueous Dispersibility, Stability, and Antioxidant Activity of Quercetin
Abstract
Quercetin is a promising nutraceutical flavonoid, but its application in aqueous formulations is limited by poor water solubility and chemical instability. In this study, renatured β-1,3-1,6-glucan nanoparticles (r-glucan NPs) were evaluated as a food-compatible carrier for quercetin and compared with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD). UV–visible absorption and circular dichroism analyses indicated that quercetin was incorporated into hydrophobic, chiral, cavity-rich domains of r-glucan NPs, where it formed a partially stacked arrangement. r-Glucan NPs showed a higher quercetin loading than β-CD and markedly improved the apparent aqueous solubility/dispersibility of quercetin, reaching 1,620 ± 15.3 µM compared with 347 ± 16.4 µM for the β-CD complex and 7.11 ± 3.97 µM for free quercetin. Although encapsulation reduced the apparent radical-scavenging activity at an equal quercetin concentration, r-glucan NPs enabled a much higher formulation-level ORAC value in water. r-Glucan NPs also showed slower apparent loss of carrier-associated quercetin and improved photostability and pH-dependent stability. In Caco-2 cells, quercetin-loaded r-glucan NPs exhibited cellular antioxidant activity without additional carrier-derived cytotoxicity. These results suggest that r-glucan NPs are promising polysaccharide-based carriers for water-dispersible and stable quercetin delivery.
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