EMULSION FILLED HYDROGELS FOR TARGET DELIVERY OF BIOACTIVES COMPOUNDS

Encapsulation structures for oral administration have been widely employed by the food, personal care, and pharmaceutical industries. Among the functions of encapsulation systems are the protection of nutraceuticals and their controlled delivery, optimizing bioactive action when consumed. Emulsion filled microgels can be used to develop this type of delivery system, allowing the entrapment of lipid droplets on biopolymers network. The influence of type and biopolymer concentration for stable emulsions formation was studied aiming to produce emulsions filled hydrogels for food applications. Food grade polysaccharides are advantageous to provide biocompatible and non-toxic products. Due to their low cost and interesting functional properties, gelatinized starch was used as the predominant matrix compound, associated with alginate in small concentrations and gelatin, to favor hydrogel structuring and stabilize emulsion, respectively. The blend of starch, gelatin and alginate resulted in stable emulsions, which were used to produce emulsion filled microgels and coated microgels by electrostatic interaction. The coating was formed under established pH conditions, which was evidenced by surface charge of the layers and microscopy images. Spherical morphology of coated microgels was not affected by coating layer, only the particle size distribution. Digestibility assay pointed out the resistance of the systems to the initial digestion stages and the alginate coating layer promoted greater resistance through gastric step, presenting a potential for protecting acid sensitive compounds which must be released in different stages of intestinal phase.