Natural astaxanthin encapsulation: Use of response surface methodology for the design of alginate beads

NIIZAWA I; ESPINACO BY; ZORRILLA SE; SIHUFE GA

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2019 vol. 121 p. 601 - 608

0141-8130

Nowadays, consumers are more conscious about healthierproducts consumption benefits. Astaxanthin obtained from the microalgae Haematococcuspluvialis represents a natural ingredient for the nutraceutical and functionalfood industries. It is claimed that astaxanthin has much stronger antioxidantactivity than vitamin E and β-carotene,providing different health benefits. However, the unstable structure of themolecule limits its application in functional foods development. Therefore, thepresent study evaluates the effect of five independent formulation and processvariables for natural astaxanthin oleoresin encapsulation using an external ionicgelation technique. Response surface methodology can be used for studying theeffect of several factors at different levels and their influences on eachother, which overcomes the shortcoming of the traditional orthogonal method.The results showed that alginate and CaCl2 concentrations have a significanteffect on particles size obtained, while alginate/oleoresin ratio andsurfactant concentration greatly influence the astaxanthin oleoresin releaserate. In vitro studies under simulated intestinal conditions showed thatastaxanthin oleoresin release process can be described by Hopfenberg model.Three mathematical models were obtained for predicting particle size,astaxanthin release rate and encapsulation yield under different processconditions, providing a platform for microencapsulation technology optimizationfor healthy food design.