Lipid nanoparticles with fats or oils containing β-carotene: Storage stability and in vitro digestibility kinetics

The aim of this work was to study the formation of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) with low (corn and olive oil) or high temperature melting lipids (cocoa butter and hydrogenated coconut oil). Moreover, their β-carotene stability and in vitro digestibility kinetics was evaluated. Submicron LNPs (d₄₃ ≈ 570-780 nm) were stabilized with Tween 80 at a surfactant-to-oil ratio (SOR) of 0.1. It was reduced below 200 nm at an SOR of 1. The β-carotene retention at 25 °C was not related to the lipid type but rather to the particle size, being lower in samples with smaller particle sizes. Cocoa butter LNPs presented an equally complete digestion as corn oil LNPs and a high β-carotene bioaccessibility, which was related to the high degree of micellarization of monoacylglycerols. This work evidences the potential of LNPs to protect lipophilic bioactive compounds with a high digestibility and bioaccessibility.