The oral delivery efficiency of aged citrus peel extract containing polymethoxyflavones and 5-demethylated polymethoxyflavones (PMFs) in three different systems, including a pure oil phase, a Tween 80-stabilized nanoemulsion, and a milled-cellulose-particles-stabilized Pickering emulsion, was investigated using two typical in vitro digestion models. The digestion profiles and release of PMFs in these emulsions and bulk oil in the human upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract were evaluated using the pH-stat lipolysis model and TNO's gastrointestinal model (TIM-1). Compared to the bulk oil sample, the bioaccessibilities of PMFs in the nanoemulsion and Pickering emulsion were both increased by around 14 fold when the pH-stat lipolysis model was used. However, the results from the TIM-1 system indicated that the bioaccessibilities of PMFs in the nanoemulsion and Pickering emulsion were around two and four times that in bulk oil, respectively. The results from this work would provide valuable information for the rational design and evaluation of lipid-based delivery systems for lipophilic bioactive compounds.
Keywords: Pickering emulsion; TIM-1; aged citrus peel extract; bioaccessibility; lipolysis; nanoemulsion.