Precursor template-induced egg white-derived peptides self-assembly for the enhancement of curcumin: Structure, environmental stability, and bioavailability

Natural multicomponent peptides with abundant bioactivity, varied sizes, and tunable interaction potential are available for rational designing novel self-assembled delivery carriers. Herein, we exploited zein-hyaluronic acid nanoparticles (Z-HA NPs) with a predetermined ordered structure as precursor templates to induce the self-assembly of egg white-derived peptides (EWDP) to generate stable spherical architectures for the enhancement of curcumin (Cur). The resulting Z-EWDP-HA NPs encapsulated hydrophobic Cur through robust hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions with high encapsulation efficiency (97.38% at pH 7.0). The NPs presented superior Cur aqueous solubility, redispersibility, and photothermal stability. More importantly, the self-assembled EWDP could exert synergistic antioxidant activity with Cur and enhance the bioaccessibility of Cur. Meanwhile, the favorable biocompatibility and membrane affinity of EWDP further prolonged residence and time-controlled release feature of Cur in the small intestine. Precursor template-induced multicomponent peptides' self-assembly provides an efficient and controllable strategy for co-enhanced bioactivity and self-assembly capacity of peptides, which could dramatically broaden the functionalization of multicomponent peptides hydrolyzed from natural food proteins.

A Comprehensive Review of Self-Assembled Food Protein-Derived Multicomponent Peptides: From Forming Mechanism and Structural Diversity to Applications

Food protein-derived multicomponent peptides (FPDMPs) are a natural blend of numerous peptides with various bioactivities and multiple active sites that can assume several energetically favorable conformations in solutions. The remarkable structural characteristics and functional attributes of FPDMPs make them promising codelivery carriers that can coassemble with different bioactive ingredients to induce multidimensional structures, such as fibrils, nanotubes, and nanospheres, thereby producing specific health benefits. This review offers a prospective analysis of FPDMPs-based self-assembly nanostructures, focusing on the mechanism of formation of self-assembled FPDMPs, the internal and external stimuli affecting peptide self-assembly, and their potential applications. In particular, we introduce the exciting prospect of constructing functional materials through precursor template-induced self-assembly of FPDMPs, which combine the bioactivity and self-assembly capacity of peptides and could dramatically broaden the functional utility of peptide-based materials.