EFFECT OF THE ADJUSTMENT OF FORMULATION PARAMETERS ON THE ENCAPSULATION EFFICIENCY OF PECTIN PARTICLES LOADED WITH ANTHOCYANIN-RICH EXTRACT FROM Syzygium cumini L.

Jambolan fruits (Syzygium cumini L.) (JF) are rich in bioactive anthocyanins (A), but their low stability and interaction with other compounds in the food matrix limit the application as food additives; encapsulation is the best strategy to overcome these limitations. This study aimed to adjust certain formulation parameters (solvent and antisolvent phases composition) to enhance encapsulation efficiency (EE%) of pectin based JF/A particles. JF/A were ultrasound-assisted (40 kHz, 135W, 30°C/ 20 min) extracted in acidified H2O/EtOH (70%, 1:25 w/v), centrifuged (2540xg, 25°C/20 min), freeze-dried, quantified ( pH-differential, yield 8.93 mg c3g/g). For solvent systems 1 and 2 (S1, S2) [Ratios: pectin (300 mg S1; 40 mg S2)- dried extract (200 mg S1; 1,12 g S2); 0,1% of polysorbate 20, 10 mL H2O, pH 3.0] by nanoprecipitation [100 mL of cold 85% ethanol (S1); 50% ethanol (S2)/ ultra-dispersion (17,000 rpm/10 min)], S1 and S2’s EE% were 56.47% and 77.80% respectively. The improvement of 21,33% of the EE% shows that formulation parameters modification caused crucial changes in encapsulation efficiency. This is a work in progress, and nanoparticle characterization analyses are currently being performed.