An in vitro digestion study of encapsulated lactoferrin in rapeseed phospholipid-based liposomes

Effectiveness of liposomes elaborated with rapeseed phospholipid (RP) extracted from a residue of oil processing, stigmasterol (ST) and/or hydrogenated phosphatidylcholine (HPC) for the encapsulation lactoferrin (LF) was studied; lipid membrane of liposomes was characterized (bilayer size, chain conformational order, lateral packing, lipid phase, and morphology) and the protection offered to the encapsulated LF during in vitro digestion was determined. Liposomes composed of RP+ST^{LC(low concentration)} showed spherical and irregular vesicles without perforations. Lamellar structure was organized in a liquid-ordered phase with a potential orthorhombic packing. Stability and size of the liposomes were more affected by gastric digestion than intestinal digestion; 67-80% of the initially encapsulated LF remained intact after gastric digestion whereas the percentage was reduced to 16-35% after intestinal digestion. Our results shows that liposomes elaborated with RP, properly combined with other lipids, can be a useful oral delivery system of molecules sensitive to digestive enzymes.