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Surface modification of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) can be an effective way to improve their oral delivery for active ingredients. In this study, four type of guar gum series modified NLCs for the delivery of phytosterols (PS) were constructed and the effects of the polysaccharides on their structure and physicochemical properties were studied. DLS and AFM results revealed that positively charged polysaccharides could bind to PS-NLCs through electrostatic attraction and made the complexes finally take positive charges, while negatively charged polysaccharides were more likely to fill in the gaps of NLC systems to achieve a balance between electrostatic repulsion and intermolecular forces. Although all four polysaccharides exhibited good storage stability and controlled release of PS in simulated intestinal digestion, PS-NLCs modified with partially hydrolyzed cationic guar gum (PHCG) at medium or high concentrations exhibited better gastric stability, mucoadhesion, and cellular uptake, which had considerable significance for improving the oral bioavailability of PS. This might be related to the coating structure of PHCG-PS-NLCs confirmed by AFM, FTIR, and Raman characterization. This study provide a reference value for designing suitable PS-NLC complexes without synthetic surfactants., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Phytosterols have health benefits; however, they are partially removed during the bleaching of corn oil. We evaluated the chemical conversion of free phytosterols (FPs) during bleaching. FP degradation accelerated with increased time and temperature, following a first-order kinetic model. In the n-heptane system, air and activated clay promoted the chemical conversion of the FPs. Sterenes formation was analysed under different conditions using a zero-order kinetic model. The apparent activation energies revealed sterene formation decreasing in the following order: campesta-3,5-diene ≈ stigmasta-3,5,22-triene > stigmasta-3,5-diene. Isomers of the above were not detected, indicating that these sterenes were the only primary products of FPs. The desorption test indicated that the FP loss from corn oil was not only due to FPs being adsorbed the activated clay, but also FPs adsorbed at acidic activated sites being degraded. This study presents a vital scientific foundation for retaining FPs to develop healthier and more nutritious oils., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The lipid matrix plays a key role in solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) embedding active ingredients. To investigate the influence of lipid matrix structure on arrangement, release, and stability of solid lipid nanoparticles, three phytosterols formulations with different carrier glycerides [glycerol monostearate (GMS), glycerol distearate (GDS), and glycerol tristearate (GTS)] were prepared and evaluated. X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry revealed the lowest crystallinity of phytosterols in the GMS matrix, corresponding to the maximum bioaccessibility (40.2%) in vitro experiments. Sustained release and better stability were observed from GDS and GTS matrices, which could be attributed to strong molecular interactions or a core-rich structure inside the nanoparticles. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated that the affinity between phytosterols and glycerides decreased in the order GDS > GTS > GMS, as well as explaining the release and storage capacities of the three nanoparticles. This study would facilitate the rational design of SLNs in functional foods., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Phytosterols are commonly found in vegetable oils and possess health benefits for humans. While investigating the chemical conversion of stigmasterol at deodorisation temperatures, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) experiments led to the identification of 5-ethyl-6-methyl-3-heptene-2-one, 3-hydoxy-steroid, 3-ketostigmasterol, and 3,7-diketostigmasterol as by-products. The identification of these compounds assisted in the interpretation of the stigmasterol oligomers characterised by high-pressure size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC). A similar analysis was conducted in stripped corn oil at the deodorisation temperatures. As such, 5-ethyl-6-methyl-3-heptene-2-one, 3-hydoxy-steroid, 3-ketostigmasterol and 3,7-diketostigmasterol were also detected in stripped corn oil, while the contents of 3-hydoxy-steroid and 5-ethyl-6-methyl-3-heptene-2-one were higher than those of 3-ketostigmasterol, as revealed by quantum chemical simulations. In addition, stripped corn oil exhibited the characteristic of preventing stigmasterol degradation below 200 °C, whereas it enhanced the chemical conversion (such as esterification and degradation) of stigmasterol at higher temperatures., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A novel enzyme-catalyzed method was developed for the synthesis of phytosterol polyol esters from β-sitosterol and polyols (sorbitol, mannitol and xylitol) by two-step transesterification using divinyl adipate (DVA) as a link. A high conversion (exceeding 94%) of β-sitosterol with a vinyl group was achieved, in the presence of Candida rugosa lipase (CRL), at low temperature (35 °C) within 30 min. Subsequently, the maximum conversion of phytosterol polyol esters (>94%) was obtained using alkaline protease from Bacillus subtilis at 65 °C. Phytosterol polyol esters had enhanced thermal stability (up to an above 355 °C) and excellent water solubility (4.6-7.9 mM at 35 °C). Moreover, obvious increases in the bioaccessibility (41.5-63.6%) and intestinal uptake (5.2-6.5%) were observed using a simulated gastrointestinal digestion/Caco-2 cell model. These results highlighted the key role of hydrophilic structural modifications on physicochemical properties and absorption of phytosterols., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Growing interest is being dedicated to smart soft matters because of their potential in controlling bioactives upon exposure to an appropriate stimulus. Herein, structuring of edible liquid oil into oleogels and emulgels as smart thermo-triggered soft vehicles for controllable release of diverse nutrients was developed. Edible liquid oil was trapped inside the crystal network structure of phytosterols and monoglycerides resulting in bicomponent solidlike oleogels. Subsequently, both water-in-oleogel (W/O) emulgels and glycerol-in-oleogel (G/O) emulgels were further fabricated by spatial distribution of the stabilizing interfacial crystals around dispersed droplets as well as the network crystals in the continuous phase. Rheological measurements showed that the gel strength of the oleogel-based emulgels depends on the fraction of the aqueous phase and is greater than that of corresponding oleogels due to a filler effect of dispersed aqueous droplets within the crystal network, offering an additional strategy to tune the structure and rheology. Comparatively, introducing glycerol endowed a higher gel strength for the oleogel-based emulgels than water, particularly at increased filler loads. In addition, these soft matters exhibited interesting thermoresponsive nature, which exhibit the flexibility for programmed release of coencapsulated bioactive components upon exposure to an appropriate thermal triggered switchable. The resulted smart thermo-triggered soft matters have emerging opportunities for application in functional active ingredient delivery by on-demand strategies.

Phytosterols oleogel-based flavor emulsions were successfully fabricated for the first time using natural tea saponin as emulsifier and one-pot ultrasonic technique. The effects of ultrasonic time and power, surfactant concentration, and type of flavor oils (e.g., orange, lemon and peppermint) on the emulsion droplet size were investigated. Submicron emulsions with a dispersed phase made by flavor oil (20 wt%) + phytosterol (4 wt%) were stabilized with 3 wt% saponin were obtained by applying an ultrasonic time of 5 min and ultrasonic power of 280 W. The natural tea saponin emulsions exhibited a superior stability and encapsulation efficiency of phytosterol, compared to traditional emulsifiers. Flavor oil-phytosterol enriched powders were prepared by spray-drying and characterized by SEM, XRD and repose angle. The natural saponin encapsulated oil + phytosterol powders had excellent fluidity, redispersion behavior and low phytosterol crystallinity. It was demonstrated that ultrasound is an effective and suitable technique for fabricating fortified flavor emulsions and microcapsules, which may be used for developing functional lipids-based applications in the food, beverage and cosmetic industries., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Phytosterols are partly removed during oil refining, and the magnitude of phytosterols loss largely depends on the refining conditions applied and the molecular conformation. The aim of this research was to study the effect of deodorization conditions and molecular unsaturation on the esterification of phytosterols during deodorization of corn oil., Results: In the chemical model, free fatty acids (FFAs) were the major provider of acyl groups during the formation of phytosteryl fatty acid esters (PEs) under deodorization conditions. Among the main parameters of the deodorization, temperature played a role in the formation of PEs with a time-dependent manner. In comparison, saturated palmitic acid had a higher capability of esterifying free phytosterols (FPs) to PEs than unsaturated oleic acid and linoleic acid. Moreover, the influence of FFA unsaturation on the degradation of FPs depended on temperature. Besides, the formation of stigmasteryl ester had a competitive advantage over that of sitosteryl ester by quantum chemistry simulation., Conclusion: For laboratory-scale deodorization of corn oil, saturated fatty acids and deodorization process with steam as stripping gas could obviously esterify FPs to PEs. FPs were abundantly enriched in distillate during the deodorization process with nitrogen as stripping gas, whereas FPs and PEs were distilled simultaneously during the deodorization process with steam. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Herein, the physical migration and chemical conversion of phytosterols during the alkali neutralisation process of corn oil were investigated with molecular insights. A significant decrease in the phytosterol content was attributed to the migration from oil to the soapstock, along with slight chemical conversions between free phytosterols and phytosteryl esters in the heterogeneous system. Moreover, the migration of phytosterols was positively correlated with the water content in a model system through low-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which was attributed to the hydrogen bonding between free phytosterols and water. Compared to sodium oleate and sodium linoleate, sodium palmitate caused a higher loss of phytosterols due to its low solubility. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the formation of a bilayer structure of the sodium salt of fatty acids, suggesting the aggregation of the sodium salt of fatty acids and phytosterols at neutralisation temperatures. Small-angle X-ray scattering analysis suggested that the concentration of the NaOH solution affected the structure of sodium oleate and the area of the polar head base, which was associated with the loss of free phytosterols. The study presents an important fundamental scientific basis for the retention of phytosterols toward the development of more healthy and nutritious edible oils. [Display omitted] ● Migration and conversions of phytosterols occurred during the neutralisation. ● Free phytosterols were mainly lost in the solid phase of soapstock. ● Free fatty acids influenced the phytosterol loss. ● Bilayer structure of sodium fatty acid with phytosterols was affected by water. ● Slight conversions between phytosterols were affected by NaOH concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]