Development of an Antarctic krill oil based self-microemulsion drug delivery system and its enhancement of bioaccessibility for curcumin

Self-microemulsion drug delivery systems (SMEDDS) have great potential for use in food applications, but their adoption has been limited due to the high proportion of non-edible surfactants. To address this limitation, we developed a novel surfactant-free SMEDDS by utilizing phospholipids (40.4%) and triglycerides (54.7%) from Antarctic krill oil (KO) as the intrinsic surfactant and oil phase, respectively, and incorporating glycerol as an edible co-surfactant. The formation mechanism of the KO-based SMEDDS and their potential to deliver curcumin were investigated. The results demonstrated that glycerol facilitated the formation of organogels by the phos-pholipids in krill oil, and homogenization effectively disrupted the organogels to form SMEDDS. The resulting microemulsion was stable under various conditions and significantly improved the bioaccessibility of curcumin in vitro, increasing it by 13.96-fold compared to curcumin powder. Our approach of using marine lipid-based SMEDDS provides insights into their formation and expands their application in foods that contain hydropho-bic active ingredients. This sustainable and potentially healthier option offers a promising solution for enhancing the bioavailability of active ingredients in food applications.

Automated summary

To overcome the limitation of non-edible surfactants, a surfactant-free self-microemulsion drug delivery system (SMEDDS) was developed by using phospholipids and triglycerides from krill oil as the surfactant and oil phase, respectively, and incorporating edible glycerol as a co-surfactant. Glycerol facilitated the formation of organogels by phospholipids in krill oil, and homogenization disrupted the organogels to form SMEDDS. The resulting microemulsion was stable and significantly improved the bioaccessibility of curcumin in vitro. This study provides insights into the formation of marine lipid-based SMEDDS and expands their application in food containing hydrophobic active ingredients.