Food-grade silica-loaded gallic acid nanocomposites (F-SiO 2@GA) were prepared.
The gallic acid in F-SiO 2@GA was loaded internally in a non-aggregated form.
F-SiO 2@GA exhibited exceptional water solubility and antioxidant activity.
F-SiO 2@GA effectively mitigated photodegradation of gardenia yellow pigment.
F-SiO 2@GA could effectively control pH, TVBN and TBARS values of whiteleg shrimp.
As the low water solubility of gallic acid (GA), its biological activities such as water-based antioxidant effect may be greatly reduced. Therefore, GA-loaded nanocomposites (F-SiO 2@GA) with high water solubility were synthesized via solvent evaporation using food-grade silica (F-SiO 2) as carriers in this work. The assessment of antioxidant capacity revealed that F-SiO 2@GA exhibited considerably greater free-radical scavenging ability than free GA and the physical mixture of F-SiO 2 and GA. In the photooxidation experiment of food-grade gardenia yellow pigment (GYP), F-SiO 2@GA showed a notable antioxidant effect on GYP solution. Additionally, in the storage experiment on chilled whiteleg shrimp ( Litopenaeus vannamei) treated with F-SiO 2@GA, pH, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) values were effectively inhibited. In conclusion, the internal encapsulation of GA effectively prevented the self-aggregation phenomenon, thereby facilitating the exposure of its active phenolic hydroxyl group and significantly enhancing its water-based biological activity.