Abstract:Effect of four different emulsifiers on the physicochemical properties and stability of β-carotene nanoparticles in oil-in-water dispersions produced by a solvent displacement technique were examined. The β in carotene particle size was measured, and the stability and retention of β-carotene during storage were determined by HPLC. The particle size of β-carotene nonodispersions stabilized by sodium caseinate (SC) was generally larger than that in the presence of Tween 20, sucrose fatty acid ester (SE) or decaglycerol monolaurate (ML750). The addition of SE or ML750 could increase the ability of sodium caseinate to stabilize β-carotene particle formation. It is suggested that sodium caseinate can be useful to partly replace SE as emulsifiers in the preparation of β-carotene nanodispersions with less than 50 nm mean diameter. During storage at 4℃, although the β-carotene content in the nanodispersions showed a significant decrease with increasing storage period, especially in the case of Tween 20 as emulsifiers, the size distribution was almost unchanged in all prepared β-carotene nanodispersions.