Enhancing the stability of tocotrienol nanoemulsion developed using ultrasonic treatment with amphiphilic starch...

Octenylsuccinic anhydride (OSA) is one of the efficient compounds used in food industries as an emulsifier. The current study describes the augmentation of tocotrienol (T3) bioavailability by combining it with OSA and then converting it into a nanoemulsion. The creation of the nanoemulsions ASG-T3U₁₀, ASG-T3U₂₀ and ASG-T3U₃₀ involved ultrasonication power at 300 W for 10, 20 and 30 cycles, respectively.

The nanoemulsion particle sizes of ASG-T3U₃₀, ASG-T3U₂₀ and ASG-T3U₁₀ ranged from 100 to 200, 200 to 300 and >300 nm (P < 0.05), respectively. ASG-T3U₃₀ exhibited enhanced encapsulation efficiency and potential stability in a simulated gastrointestinal environment. A range of models such as zero order, Higuchi, Korsmeyer-Peppas, Peppas-Sahlin and Gompertz were utilized for the study of release kinetics. The models were found to be a good fit (R² > 0.90) for the release of T3 in the gastrointestinal environment from an amphiphilic starch matrix. Storage stability tests showed that the emulsions were stable for 21 days of storage at 4 °C, but after 14 days, samples with particle diameters greater than 200 nm displayed the onset of Ostwald ripening.

The study showed that the stability of the nanoemulsion was effectively enhanced through increased ultrasonication cycles. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.