β-carotene, the most popular member of carotenoids with pro-vitamin A function, plays an important role in prevention of different disorders such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardio-vascular diseases. Nanoencapsulation is one of the most effectual techniques for the incorporation of β-carotene into the food formulations in order to improve its antioxidant activity and physicochemical stability. In this study, quince seed mucilage was used as the aqueous phase of carotenoid emulsions. In order to attain a deep understanding of β-carotene loaded nanoemulsions, the impact of different β-carotene concentrations on physicochemical characteristics of produced emulsions (i. e. zeta potential, particle size, electrical conductivity, dynamic rheological properties, surface tension, and antioxidant activity) were investigated. The results revealed that increasing the β-carotene concentration would result in an increase in viscosity, droplet size, antioxidant activity, and zeta potential of produced nanoemulsions. While a reverse trend was observed in the case of electrical conductivity. Generally, the results indicated that the anionic quince seed mucilage effectively improved the β-carotene physicochemical stability. 

Keywords: β-carotene, Quince seed mucilage, Nanoemulsion, Physicochemical stability, Antioxidant activity

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