Enhanced Stability and Bioavailability of Defatted Cricket Protein Hydrolysates Encapsulated in Alginate-Coated Liposomes

The practical application of protein hydrolysates as functional food ingredients is frequently obstructed by their inherent structural instability. To circumvent this limitation, liposomal encapsulation has emerged as a sophisticated strategy to bolster the bioactivity and integrity of cricket-derived proteins. In this study, varying concentrations (1–4% w/v) of defatted cricket protein hydrolysate (DCPH) were integrated into vesicles composed of soy lecithin and cholesterol. The highest encapsulation efficiency (EE) was observed at a 2% DCPH loading capacity, yielding a significant result of 88.18% (p < 0.05). Subsequent coating with sodium alginate (SA) at 0.1–0.3% (w/v) resulted in an increase in particle size and a more pronounced negative surface charge. When maintained at 4 °C over a 24-day duration, the SA-coated liposome (SA-L-2%DCPH) exhibited superior stability compared to its uncoated (L-2%DCPH) counterpart. Also, the digest derived from the SA-L-2%DCPH exhibited significantly enhanced transepithelial permeability across the Caco-2 cell monolayer, indicated by the higher protein content and ABTS radical scavenging activity. Thus, sodium alginate-coated liposomes serve as a promising delivery system for encapsulating DCPH both during storage stability and in the gastrointestinal digestion system.