Evaluation of novel carriers for enhanced dissolution of lycopene

Despite the antioxidant properties of lycopene, its poor water solubility reduces its efficiency and bioavailability. The study aimed to enhance the solubility of lycopene to improve its efficiency. To make lycopene more soluble, different carriers were added using physical mixing and solid-dispersion techniques. Then, the mechanisms of this solubility improvement were studied using solid-state characterization and docking studies. Out of 56 polymers and their combinations, isolated protein-whey (IWP) and polyvinylpyrrolidone-K30 (PVP-K30) showed the highest solubility for lycopene. These particles exhibited a more negative surface charge and a lower polydispersity index. Dissolution kinetics revealed that using IPW resulted in the highest release rate of lycopene. It was found that lycopene and β-lactoglobulin, an IPW component, have a hydrophobic bond. This makes a hydrophilic coating around the lycopene molecule. DSC results showed that lycopene could be in an amorphous state in IPW-lycopene formulations. The results of this study show how some food ingredients can improve the bioavailability of drugs that don’t dissolve well in water. This will help with future efforts to deliver drugs.