20.500.12556/RUL-181656 Analysis of the mechanisms and efficiency of Taxifolin encapsulation in whey proteins via thermomechanical mixing and spray drying Taxifolin (TXL) is a minor bioactive compound from the polyphenol class that may significantly impact human metabolism when included in food products. However, its application is limited by a bitter taste and low bioavailability. We hypothesized that encapsulating TXL in whey proteins using thermomechanical mixing or spray drying could effectively mask its bitterness and enhance bioavailability. Computational simulations indicated that each molecule of β-lactoglobulin (β-Lg) and α-lactalbumin (α-La) can bind at least one TXL molecule. Consequently, experiments used an equimolar ratio of whey proteins to TXL (1:1). Thermomechanical stirring of liquid whey protein concentrate (WPC) at 80 ± 2 °C followed by lyophilisation formed protein aggregates up to 160 μm in size, incorporating large TXL crystals. Encapsulation efficiency was 63 ± 3 %, and the bitter flavour remained unmasked. In contrast, encapsulation via spray drying achieved up to 71 ± 2 % efficiency at an inlet air temperature of 150 °C. The resulting WPC microcapsules, up to 30 μm in size, did not contain large TXL crystals, and bitterness was fully masked. This aligns with the observed reduction in TXL's antioxidant activity. After disrupting WPC microcapsules with ethanol, antioxidant activity of the polyphenol was nearly fully restored. These findings suggest that when such microcapsules are ingested with food, the antioxidant activity of TXL will be expressed in the intestine following proteins breakdown. The results may support the development of novel food products containing whey proteins with encapsulated TXL. polyphenols А-lactalbumin В-lactoglobulin molecular modeling microcapsules taxifolin crystals antioxidant activity bioaktivne spojine polifenoli taksifolin kapsulacija antioksidativna aktivnost true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-04-10 14:46:10 2026-04-10 14:46:18 2026-04-13 04:41:58 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2025 0 0 13 str. art. 100261 Vol. 10 Jun. 2025 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2025-06-01 547.9:641.1 2666-5662 10.1016/j.fochms.2025.100261 238070275 RAZ_Borisenko_Aleksander_A._2025.pdf RAZ_Borisenko_Aleksander_A._2025.pdf 1 5CB079141895ABCC1D4D3DEF34277C48 05b63fb599d8315b4f3ab3c3f836b16d7af8b7a2f1f5c43e9e78761399dadc99 e2d420db-34db-11f1-b0ab-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=232312 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266656622500022X 1 114709bf-34db-11f1-b0ab-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=232310 Biotehniška fakulteta 0 0 0