In this study, a nanocomposite was developed by introducing egg white-derived peptides (EWDP) into protein-polysaccharide complexes to trigger the self-assembly of EWDP for encapsulating curcumin (Cur) via the pH-driven method. In this system, EWDP could cooperate with protein-polysaccharide complexes to exert superior colloidal properties with excellent Cur aqueous solubility, redispersibility, and physical stability and act as a bioactivity amplifier to endow the delivery system with the synergistic antioxidant activity. This phenomenon was ascribed to the additional hydrophobic cavities, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic interactions organized by EWDP. Additionally, the presence of EWDP could considerably boost the cellular antioxidant activity of Cur by decreasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, improving free radical scavenging capacity, and recovering the activity of endogenous antioxidant enzymes. These findings might open up an avenue to reinforce lipophilic nutraceuticals' physicochemical properties and functionalities based on the co-assembly of food-derived peptides and protein-polysaccharide complexes.

在这项研究中，通过将蛋清衍生肽 (EWDP) 引入蛋白质-多糖复合物中，通过 pH 驱动的方法触发 EWDP 自组装封装姜黄素 (Cur)，开发了一种纳米复合材料。在该系统中，EWDP可以与蛋白质-多糖复合物协同发挥优异的胶体性质，具有优异的Cur水溶性、再分散性和物理稳定性，并作为生物活性放大器赋予递送系统协同抗氧化活性。这种现象归因于 EWDP 组织的额外疏水空腔、氢键和静电相互作用。此外，EWDP 的存在可以通过降低活性氧 (ROS) 水平显着提高 Cur 的细胞抗氧化活性，提高自由基清除能力，恢复内源性抗氧化酶活性。这些发现可能为基于食物衍生肽和蛋白质-多糖复合物的共组装而增强亲脂性保健品的物理化学特性和功能开辟了一条途径。