Control of β-carotene bioaccessibility using starch-based filled hydrogels

β-Carotene was incorporated into three types of delivery system: (i) “emulsions”: protein-coated fat droplets dispersed in water; (ii) “hydrogels”: rice starch gels; and (iii) “filled hydrogels”: protein-coated fat droplets dispersed in rice starch gels. Fat droplets in filled hydrogels were stable in simulated mouth and stomach conditions, but aggregated under small intestinal conditions. Fat droplets in emulsions aggregated under oral, gastric, and intestinal conditions. β-Carotene bioaccessibility was higher when encapsulated in filled hydrogels than in emulsions or hydrogels, which was attributed to increased aggregation stability of the fat droplets leading to a larger exposed lipid surface area. β-Carotene bioaccessibility in starch hydrogels containing no fat was very low (≈1%) due to its crystalline nature and lack of mixed micelles to solubilise it. The information presented may be useful for the design of rice-starch based gel products fortified with lipophilic nutraceuticals.