Abstract
Excipient emulsions were prepared using different emulsifiers (pectin and sodium caseinate, individually or compositely) to study the emulsifying properties and their co-digested effects on the retention and bioaccessibility of carotenoids in mandarin juice, which is a good source of carotenoids in people's diet. Results showed that both pectin (PC) and pectin-sodium caseinate (PC-SC) emulsion significantly increased the carotenoids retention and bioaccessibility of mandarin juice, with the effects depending on both emulsifiers and polymer concentration. Whether for PC or PC-SC emulsion, lower pectin content accompanied with lower viscosity showed higher carotenoids bioaccessibility. And for the complexed emulsions, appropriate sodium caseinate addition could be more beneficial in improving carotenoids bioaccessibility. It had been found that the viscosity comparing with particle size seemed to play a more important role in affecting carotenoid bioaccessibility during the co-digestion. This study could provide a basis for improving the carotenoids bioaccessibility in the real system of fruits and vegetables with excipient emulsions.