Preparation of Monascus Yellow Pigment Nanoparticles and Its Ameliorative Effect on Lipid Deposition in HepG2 Cells

To address the poor water solubility and low targeting ability of Monascus yellow pigment (MYP) from Monascus rice and thereby enhance its bioavailability, this study prepared MYP-zein-galactosylated chitosan nanoparticles (MYP-GC-NP) and evaluated its efficacy in ameliorating oleic acid/palmitic acid (OA/PA)-induced lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells. The results showed that MYP-GC-NP exhibited a spherical shape and uniform size distribution with an average particle size of (167.00 ± 0.60) nm, a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.25 ± 0.01, and a ζ-potential of 70.88 mV. Additionally, compared with nanoparticles without modification by GC, MYP-GC-NP were more readily taken up by hepatocytes and significantly reduced intracellular lipid accumulation. This study provides a novel strategy to improve the bioavailability of MYP and offers a theoretical basis for the application of MYP-loaded nanoparticles in alleviating lipid accumulation.