Β-carotene and Bovine Serum Albumin Binding: a Thermodynamic Approach

The color is a sensory attribute that influence decisively the judgment of consumers in certain type of food and therefore, the food industries have added dyes to their products. Natural dyes have been demanded by consumers but there are some limitations in its use such as low water solubility and low stability. Therefore, we have sought ways of overcoming these limitations and milk proteins play an important role in the entrainment of hydrophobic molecules. In this study, we studied the interaction between native and denatured bovine serum albumin (BSA), and β-carotene by fluorescence spectroscopy. Increasing concentrations of β-carotene reduced the fluorescence intensity of BSA, being the constant interaction 1,19x10 5 and 1,34x10 2 L.mol -1 and the stoichiometry of the complex formation 1: 1 and 1: 3 at 25 °C for native and denatured BSA, respectively. The native BSA can be used as an efficient carrier for β-carotene in food systems.