Polymethoxyflavones (PMF) isolated from citrus peel have potent anti-cancer activity, however their utilization as functional ingredients in foods is currently limited because of their high melting point and poor water-solubility. The influence of oil type and concentration, hydrophilic polymer addition, and simulated intestinal conditions on PMF (5-hydroxytangeretin) solubility in solutions and nanoemulsions was examined. The saturation concentration of PMF in water was relatively low (0.93 μM), but could be increased appreciably by adding certain hydrophilic polymers: polyethylene glycol (PEG) and β-cyclodextrin (CD) were ineffective at increasing solubility, but poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) greatly enhanced solubility (e.g., > 6 μM for 0.5 % polymer). PMF was more soluble in medium chain triglycerides (MCT, 6.1 mM) than long chain triglycerides (LCT, 4.2 mM). The encapsulation efficiency of PMF in oil-in-water nanoemulsions was higher when MCT was used as the oil phase rather than LCT, and could be increased by increasing the oil droplet content. The solubility of PMF in simulated small intestinal fluids was increased by solubilization in bile micelles and mixed micelles formed during lipid digestion. These results have important implications for the development of functional foods fortified with bioactive hydrophobic components aimed at improving human health and wellness.

中文翻译：

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使用纳米乳液封装和输送结晶疏水性保健品：影响聚甲氧基黄酮溶解度的因素。

从柑橘皮中分离出的多甲氧基黄酮（PMF）具有有效的抗癌活性，但由于其熔点高和水溶性差，目前其作为食品功能成分的应用受到限制。研究了油的类型和浓度、亲水性聚合物的添加以及模拟肠道条件对 PMF（5-羟基橘黄素）在溶液和纳米乳液中溶解度的影响。PMF在水中的饱和浓度相对较低（0.93 μM），但通过添加某些亲水性聚合物可以明显提高：聚乙二醇（PEG）和β-环糊精（CD）对增加溶解度无效，但聚（乙烯醇） (PVA) 和羟丙基甲基纤维素 (HPMC) 大大增强了溶解度（例如， 0.5% 聚合物> 6 μM）。PMF 在中链甘油三酯（MCT，6.1 mM）中比长链甘油三酯（LCT，4.2 mM）更易溶解。当使用MCT而不是LCT作为油相时，PMF在水包油纳米乳液中的包封效率更高，并且可以通过增加油滴含量来提高。PMF 在模拟小肠液中的溶解度通过在脂质消化过程中形成的胆汁胶束和混合胶束中的溶解而增加。这些结果对于开发旨在改善人类健康和保健的生物活性疏水成分强化的功能性食品具有重要意义。