Effect of polyglycerol esters of fatty acids on physicochemical properties and stability of β-carotene nanodispersions prepared by emulsification/evaporation method

The effects of six different polyglycerol esters of fatty acids (PGEs) as nonionic emulsifiers on the physicochemical properties and stability of beta-carotene nanoparticles in oil-in-water dispersions produced by an emulsification/evaporation technique were examined. The beta-carotene particle size was measured by a laser diffraction technique, and the stability and retention of beta-carotene during various preparation steps and storage were determined by HPLC. In the prepared nanodispersions the beta-carotene particle size decreased with increasing degree of glycerol polymerisation and decreasing carbon number of the fatty acid group in the PGE. The particle size of beta-carotene in nanodispersions containing polyglycerol monooleate was generally larger than that in the presence of polyglycerol monolaurate. During storage at 4degreesC, although the beta-carotene content in the nanodispersions showed a significant (P < 0.05) decrease with increasing storage period, the size distribution of beta-carotene was almost unchanged in all prepared nanodispersions. In general, the mean diameter of beta-carotene nanoparticles ranged from 85 to 132 nm. In the light of their ability to physically stabilise beta-carotene particle formation, it is suggested that PGEs with a high degree of glycerol polymerisation may be useful in the preparation of beta-carotene nanodispersions. The best stabilisation was obtained using 10 g kg(-1) decaglycerol monolaurate. (C) 2004 Society of Chemical Industry.