Preparation, structural and functional characterization of corn peptide-chelated calcium microcapsules using...

The utilization of peptide-chelated calcium is low due to the influence of factors such as solubility, heat and digestive environmental conditions; therefore, it is crucial to protect, prolong and stabilize this nutrient in order to enhance its efficacy. This study was conducted to prepare corn peptide-chelated calcium microcapsules using β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) as the wall material through an improved ultrasonic-assisted method. The structure, solubility, thermal stability, and in vitro gastrointestinal digestion of these microcapsules were thoroughly investigated and analyzed. The microcapsules were prepared using the following recommended conditions: a chelate concentration of 5 mg/mL, a mass ratio of chelate to β-CD of 1:8 g/g, and a synchronous dual-frequency ultrasound (20/28 kHz) at a power of 75 W, a duty ratio of 20/5 s/s, and a time of 20 min. These specific parameters were carefully selected to ensure the optimal fabrication of the microcapsules. The results showed that the utilization of dual-frequency ultrasound resulted in a significant increase in both the encapsulation rate and yield, which were enhanced by 15.84 % and 15.68 %, respectively, reaching impressive values of 79.17 % and 90.60 %. Moreover, the results of the structure index analysis provided further confirmation that ultrasonic treatment had a significant impact on the structure of the microcapsules, leading to a noticeable reduction in particle size and transformation into nanoparticles. Furthermore, the microcapsules demonstrated excellent solubility within a wide pH range of 2 to 10, with solubility ranging from 93.54 % to 88.68 %. Additionally, these microcapsules exhibited remarkable thermal stability, retaining a minimum of 84.8 % of their stability when exposed to temperatures ranging from 40 to 80 °C. Moreover, during gastric and intestinal digestion, these microcapsules exhibited a high slow-release rate of 44.66 % and 51.6 %, indicating their ability to gradually release calcium contents. The inclusion of dual-frequency ultrasound in the preparation of high calcium microcapsules yielded promising outcomes. Overall, our work presents a novel method for synthesizing corn peptide-chelated calcium microcapsules with desirable properties such as good solubility, excellent thermal stability, and a significant slow-release effect. These microcapsules have the potential to serve as fortified high calcium supplements.