Nano-assembly of dioscin via zein-Angelica sinensis polysaccharide composite nanocarriers: structure, stability, bioaccessibility and bioactivity.

The application of multibioactive dioscin (DO) in food and nutraceutical systems is currently limited by poor aqueous solubility, stability, and bioaccessibility. To enhance the stability and functional performance of DO, zein and Angelica sinensis polysaccharides (ASP) loaded DO nanoparticles (DAZ NPs) were prepared. The optimized DAZ NPs have a mean diameter of 209.2 ± 7.18 nm and a loading capacity of 15.19 ± 0.27%. DAZ NPs exhibited enhanced stability across varying conditions, restricted premature DO release under gastric conditions, and enabled sustained release in the intestinal phase, resulting in the increased DO bioaccessibility by approximately threefold compared with free DO. Furthermore, DAZ NPs elevated the viability of ethanol-injured AML-12 hepatocytes to 91.73%, exceeding that of free DO (88.24%). Overall, these findings demonstrate that zein-ASP composite nanoparticles represent an effective food-grade delivery strategy for stabilizing DO, enhancing its gastrointestinal bioaccessibility, and amplifying its cytoprotection function.