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Functional emergency food rations with health-promoting attributes can improve the performance of armed forces during military missions, especially if there would not be enough time for food consumption. Therefore, the aim of this study was to produce emergency rations enriched with functional ingredients including whey protein nanofibril (WPN) and its complexes with curcumin (C-WPN) and quercetin (Q-WPN) as bioactive antioxidant compounds. After the formulation and production of the rations, their antioxidant activity, sensory properties, and microbial attributes were investigated. Addition of curcumin and quercetin to rations significantly improved their antioxidant activity as investigated by free radical scavenging method and reducing power assay. In all these methods, rations had higher antioxidant activity in the presence of curcumin and quercetin. The microbial and sensory properties of rations also were acceptable. Therefore, the results of this study suggested that the curcumin and quercetin as biologically active ingredients can be used in the formulation of emergency food rations for increasing their antioxidant activity which is very useful for improving the performance of armed forces and soldiers during military missions and activities.

In the present study, the fresh egg white was employed as a carrier for enhancing the aqueous solubility and antioxidant activity of the curcumin as a bioactive hydrophobic ingredient. The curcumin-egg white protein complexes were prepared at pH values of 7.0 and 3.0. The results indicated that the binding of curcumin to egg white proteins at pH values of 7.0 and 3.0 drastically improved its water solubility. The fluorescence measurements showed that the hydrophobic interactions were generated between the curcumin and proteins. The curcumin-loaded egg white prepared at pH 7.0 and 3.0 also had a good antioxidant activity that was measured by radical (ABTS and DPPH) scavenging activity and reducing power test. In general, the findings of this study suggested that the egg white can be considered as an efficient system for increasing the aqueous solubility and antioxidant activity of curcumin which enhances its applications in different fields including food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries.