Preparation, Physicochemical Characterization and Oxidative Stabilityof Omega-3 Fish Oil/α-Tocopherol-co-Loaded Nanostructured LipidicCarriers

This study aimed to improve the pharmacokinetic behavior of polyunsaturatedfatty acids (PUFAs) oxidation to enhance oxidative stability for inhibiting formation of toxichydroperoxides, develops off-flavors and shortens shelf-life. Nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) co-encapsulating omega-3 fish oil and α-tocopherolwas successfully prepared by melt blending and hot sonication method to enhance the oxidativestability of the fish oil. Encapsulation efficiency (EE) and in vitro release, the oxidative stabilityof prepared nanoparticles (NPs) were measured using detection of peroxide value (PV) andthiobarbituric acid (TBA) during 40 days. Electron microscopy and particle size analysis showed dispersed and homogenousNPs with an average diameter of 119 nm. Sustained oil release at a physiologic pH, and longtermstability in terms of the size, zeta, and dispersity of NPs was achieved after 75 days ofstorage. The omega-3 fish oil co-encapsulated with α-tocopherol in the NLC possessed betteroxidative stability compared with the all other formulations. Also, it was found that the NLC asan encapsulation method was more successful to inhibit the formation of the primary oxidationproducts than the secondary oxidation products. Generally, these findings indicated that co-encapsulation of fish oil and α-tocopherolwithin the NLC can be a suitable delivery system in order to enrich foodstuffs, in particular clearbeverages.