Enhancing β-carotene stability and bioaccessibility: Epigallocatechin-3-gallate modification insoluble rice bran multicomponent complex as Pickering emulsion carrier.

To improve the delivery performance of β-carotene in Pickering emulsions, the insoluble rice bran multicomponent complex (IRBMC) was modified with epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG, 0-100 mg/g). Compared with the emulsion stabilized by unmodified IRBMC, emulsions prepared with moderately modified IRBMC (25 mg/g) exhibited excellent delivery performance, with encapsulation efficiency increased from 88.5% to 98.8%, β-carotene retention after gastric digestion remaining above 99% and after intestinal digestion increasing from 63.6% to approximately 85%, and bioaccessibility reaching a maximum of 45.8%. Moderate EGCG modification also improved long-term storage stability, with β-carotene retention increasing from 50.8% to 79.6% and creaming index decreasing from 20.8% to 14.2% after 30 d. Correlation analysis revealed that the improved delivery performance was highly correlated with the optimized interfacial properties of IRBMC upon moderate EGCG modification. Overall, EGCG modification is an effective strategy to enhance the encapsulation capacity, stability, and bioaccessibility of β-carotene in IRBMC-stabilized Pickering emulsion carriers.