Degradation of Vitamin E in Nanoemulsions during Storage as Affected by Temperature, Light and Darkness

Abstract

Abstract Vitamin E (VE) nanoemulsions confront physical instabilities and chemical degradation during processing and/or storage. Therefore, thermal stability and degradation kinetics of VE in nanoemulsions fabricated using low-energy emulsification method as a function of temperature under light and in the dark were studied. Nanoemulsions had small droplet diameter (≈110 nm). The thermal degradation of VE followed the first-order kinetics with samples heated at 75°C and above presenting the highest degradation rate and short half-life (5.22 min). The degradation of VE in long-term storage fitted the Weibull model with highest degradation in nanoemulsions stored under light at 40°C. However, VE retained in nanoemulsions after certain period of time might be boosted up when nanoemulsions are stored in the dark. Results showed that the physical stability tests alone are not enough to judge the stability of VE delivery systems, as the encapsulated VE might be lost during processing and storage.