Polysaccharides of beta-D-glucan configuration have well-known antioxidant activity against reactive free radicals generated from the oxidation of metabolic processes. In this study, beta-D-glucan-polysaccharides extracted from Ganoderma lucidum were incorporated in palm olein based nanoemulsions which act as carrier systems to enhance the delivery and bioactivity of these polysaccharides and could be potentially useful for skin care applications. Initially response surface statistical design (Central Composite Design - CCD) was subjected to optimize the formulation variables of oil-in-water (O/W) nanoemulsions induced by ultrasound. The optimal formulation variables as predicted by CCD resulted in considerably improving the physical characteristics of ultrasonically formulated nanoemulsions by minimizing their droplet size, polydispersity index and viscosity. Moreover, the beta-D-glucan-loaded nanoemulsions exhibited good stability over 90 days under different storage conditions (4 degrees C and 25 degrees C). The studies using palm olein based beta-D-glucan-loaded nanoemulsion generated using ultrasound confirm higher antioxidant activity as compared to free beta-D-glucan. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.