From extraction to encapsulation: optimizing the processing strategy of soybean oil bodies for enhanced thermal and photochemical stability of lutein

Abstract

Lutein, a bioactive compound with limited stability under thermal and light exposure, faces challenges in food applications, which is the core research problem to be solved. Soybean (Glycine max) oil bodies (SOBs), natural oil-in-water emulsions, are a promising delivery platform for hydrophobic compounds like lutein. This study optimized the encapsulation and stabilization of lutein using SOBs extracted at two pH levels, namely crude oil bodies (COB, pH 7) and purified oil bodies (POB, pH 11), via three techniques: stirring, homogenization, and ultrasonication. The key research results are as follows. All samples had an encapsulation efficiency (EE) > 60%, with homogenized COB with a 0.05% concentration of lutein achieving the highest (94.14%). COB had higher loading efficiency (LE) than POB (extraneous proteins promoted lutein binding), and ultrasonication/stirring yielded higher LE than homogenization. All emulsions exhibited unimodal particle size distributions (350–520 nm) and negative zeta potentials. Ultrasonication enhanced physical stability, and lutein did not affect viscosity or fluidity. POB emulsions better protected lutein (retention > 50% after heating at 90 °C for 12 h). Homogenization reduced lutein retention through membrane damage. These findings validate SOBs as lutein carriers, clarify the effects of SOBs' composition and encapsulation methods on delivery performance, and provide insights for optimizing hydrophobic bioactive encapsulation in functional products.

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