Pseudocereal starch-based filled hydrogel as an efficient delivery system to improve the stability and...

Pseudocereal starches isolated from amaranth (AS), buckwheat (BS), and quinoa (QS) possess unique physicochemical properties that offer great potential for applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. However, their use in filled hydrogel (FH) encapsulation systems remains underexplored. This study investigated the stability and bioavailability of retinol encapsulated in pseudocereal starch-based FH, comparing them with industrially used starches, such as corn starch (CS) and potato starch (PS). During storage, QS-FH exhibited highest retinol retention rates among all FH (AS-FH, BS-FH, CS-FH, and PS-FH) and the control emulsion (EM) samples, which was partly related to its relatively low surface charge. The bioaccessibility of retinol was consistently higher in all FH system compared to EM system, with QS-FH and BS-FH displaying particularly promising results. Samples with high bioaccessible retinol content after in vitro digestion exhibited high absorption by Caco-2 cells through passive diffusion, resulting in low efflux ratios and increased cellular antioxidant activity (CAA). Notably, QS-FH demonstrated the highest absorption and antioxidant activity in Caco-2 cells, indicating excellent encapsulation performance during in vitro digestion. This study demonstrated that lipophilic bioactive compounds can be effectively delivered orally through pseudocereal starch-based FH, which implied versatile applications of pseudocereal starches in diverse food systems.