Nanoencapsulation and Bioavailability Enhancement Study of Microalga Phaeodactylum tricornutum Extract Containing Fucoxanthin

Abstract

This study aims to develop two nanoparticles encapsulated by Phaeodactylum tricornutum extract (PE) containing fucoxanthin (FX) with alginate and casein (A-C-PE) and A-C-PE coated with chitosan (Cs-A-C-PE) and systemically evaluate their stability and bioavailability by in vitro digestion, intestinal cell permeability and in vivo pharmacokinetic (PK) studies. In the simulated gastrointestinal condition, two types of nanoparticles (A-C-PE, Cs-A-C-PE) showed the controlled release of FX from the encapsulating materials compared to PE. In Caco-2 cell permeability study, A-C-PE and Cs-A-C-PE showed higher cell permeability than PE, based on the value of apparent permeability coefficient. In vivo PK study, two metabolites of FX (fucoxanthinol and amarouciaxanthin A) were analyzed in plasma of mouse administrated A-C-PE, Cs-A-C-PE and PE. PK parameters of two metabolites exhibited that two nanoparticles have higher bioavailability than PE. In conclusion, two types of PE-loaded nanoparticles containing FX significantly promote the bioavailability of FX through the overall delivery aspect.