Abstract:To enhance the stability and bioactivities of β-carotene，a gelatin-fatty acid conjugate（GFC）of 8-18 alkyl chain length was used as a carrier to load β-carotene and prepare beverages.At the same time，the effect of external conditions on the efficiency of GFC in loading β-carotene was discussed，and the storage stability and simulated gastrointestinal digestion of GFC loaded with β-carotene（β-GFC）were evaluated following beverage processing.The beverages were prepared using gelatin-caprylic acid conjugate（GCC），gelatin-lauric acid conjugate（GLC），and gelatin-oleic acid conjugate（GOC）to load β-carotene（β-GCC，β-GLC，and β-GOC）.It was observed that at a stirring rate of 600 r/min，a temperature of 40°C，and a GCC concentration of 2 mg/mL，the β-carotene concentration in the GCC solution reached its peak at（7.31±0.14）μg/mL.The highest β-carotene concentration（10.76±0.30）μg/mL in the GLC solution was achieved at a stirring rate of 400 r/min，a temperature of 40 ℃，and a GLC concentration of 3 mg/mL.Notably，β-carotene concentration in the GOC solution peaked at（13.21±0.34）μg/mL at a stirring rate of 500 r/min，a temperature of 30 ℃，and a GOC concentration of 3 mg/mL.The beverage was processed using GFC loaded with β-carotene，and its stability under thermal processing and storage conditions was further investigated.The slowest degradation rate of β-carotene was observed in the β-GOC beverage after sustained heating at 70，80，90 ℃for 50 min.On the 36 d of storage，β-carotene in the β-GOC beverage displayed remarkable stability（retention rates of 77.02% at 25 ℃and 83.87% at 4 ℃）.Furthermore，during simulated in vitro digestion，the protein retention rates of GFC in descending order were GOC＞GCC＞GLC，whereas the β-carotene retention rates in descending order were GOC＞GLC＞GCC.In summary，GFC exhibited robust protection for hydrophobic nutrients during processing，storage，and gastrointestinal digestion.