Effect of liposomal encapsulation on the recovery and antioxidant properties of green tea catechins incorporated into a hard low-fat cheese following in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion

- Catechin and epigallocatechin gallate were encapsulated in soy lecithin liposomes.
- Nanoencapsulated green tea catechins were incorporated into hard low-fat cheese.
- Liposomal encapsulated catechins increased antioxidant properties of low-fat cheese.
- Liposomal encapsulation of catechins enabled a higher level of retention in cheese.
- About half of the initial catechin was recovered from the digesta of low-fat cheese.

Two green tea polyphenols, catechin and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), were encapsulated in soy lecithin liposomes before being incorporated into low-fat hard cheese that was ripened for 90 days at 8 °C. Fortification of low-fat cheese with liposome-encapsulated catechin or EGCG led to a significant increase (p < 0.01) in the total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity measured after in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. There was no significant effect of encapsulation on cheese composition, pH, or cheese yield from milk. Catechin and EGCG were not detected in the cheese whey, indicating complete retention in the cheese structure. About half of the initial catechin and one-third of EGCG were recovered from the cheese digesta. The process of liposomal encapsulation of phenolic compounds enabled a high level of retention in low-fat cheese with release under gastrointestinal digestive conditions to increase the antioxidative functionality of cheese.