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Updated: Jun 19, 2026
Directed Assembly of Elastin-like Proteins into defined Supramolecular Structures and Cargo Encapsulation In Vitro
Published on: April 8, 2020
Exploiting myofibrillar protein amphiphilicity to construct bigels for protective delivery of epigallocatechin
Junchao Huang1, Jie Yang2, Zhijie Zheng3
1Institute of Oceanography, College of Geography and Oceanography, Minjiang University, Fuzhou, China; College of Food Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China; State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, China.
Abstract:
Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is a bioactive polyphenol with high nutritional value, but its application is limited by poor environmental stability. In this study, a myofibrillar protein (MP)-based bigel system was developed by exploiting the amphiphilic nature of MP to construct both the hydrogel and oleogel phases. Bigels with different hydrogel-to-oleogel ratios were prepared and characterized for structure, rheology, texture, and EGCG delivery performance. Among all formulations, bigel 5:5 exhibited the most favorable characteristics, including a more compact and ordered network structure, superior rheological and textural properties, and enhanced structural stability. Correspondingly, bigel 5:5 exhibited the highest EGCG retention efficiency (71.43%) and retained content (7.583 mg/g) for EGCG, while also significantly enhancing its thermal and photostability, and increasing EGCG bioaccessibility to 46.31%. Overall, this work introduces a novel and facile strategy for constructing bigels based on the amphiphilic nature of MP, offering a promising delivery platform for instability-prone bioactive compounds.
