A rosmarinic acid-fish skin protein-chitosan hybrid nano-delivery system with excellent sustained-release and antioxidant performances

Kemeng Qin; Xinyu Sun; Jingmin Liu; Ruican Wang; Xufang Huang; Yi Wang; Haitao Wang; Jingying Yang; Shuo Wang

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.145316

A rosmarinic acid-fish skin protein-chitosan hybrid nano-delivery system with excellent sustained-release and antioxidant performances

Food Chem. 2025 Jun 24:491:145316. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.145316. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Kemeng Qin¹, Xinyu Sun², Jingmin Liu³, Ruican Wang³, Xufang Huang¹, Yi Wang³, Haitao Wang³, Jingying Yang¹, Shuo Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory for Food Nutrition and Safety, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China.
² College of Food Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, Henan, China.
³ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China; Key Laboratory of Special Diet Nutrition and Health Research, China National Light Industry, Tianjin, 300071, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory for Food Nutrition and Safety, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China; Key Laboratory of Special Diet Nutrition and Health Research, China National Light Industry, Tianjin, 300071, China. Electronic address: wangshuo@nankai.edu.cn.

PMID: 40580595
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.145316

Abstract

Rosmarinic acid (RA) exhibits significant antioxidant properties, can effectively protect the human body from free radical damage and thereby maintain normal physiological and immune functions. However, its application is constrained by poor stability and susceptibility to oxidation. Protein modified chitosan (CS)-based nano-delivery systems have been widely used for protecting food functional components against complex external environmental factors. Herein, black fish skin protein (FSP) was successfully extracted and utilized as a stabilizer for constructing chitosan-based nano-delivery system loaded with RA. Specifically, polyphenol-protein-polysaccharide three-phase hybrid nano-complexes (RA@FSP/CS NCs) were prepared using a pH-driven strategy assisted by ultrasonic treatment. The preparation process of RA@FSP/CS NCs was optimized by the particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), and antioxidant activity, obtained that the optimal mass ratio of FSP to CS was 2:3. RA@FSP/CS₂₃ NCs showed spherical microstructure, effectively protected and maintained the antioxidant activity of RA, and owed excellent stability, good biocompatibility, and sustained-release performance.

Keywords: Antioxidant property; Chitosan-based nano-delivery system; Fish skin protein; Rosmarinic acid; Sustained-release.