Emulsion formulation optimization and characterization of spray-dried κ-carrageenan microparticles for the encapsulation of CoQ10

Coenzyme Q10-loaded microcapsules stabilized by glyceryl monostearate and soy protein isolates-flaxseed gum: Characterization, in vitro release and digestive behavior

This study aimed to stabilize microcapsules with core materials of glyceryl monostearate (GMS) and octyl and decyl glycerate, and wall materials of soy protein isolates (SPI) and flaxseed gum (FG) by complex coacervation method to overcome the drawbacks of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). It was demonstrated by the study that the obtained microcapsules were irregular aggregates. Differential scanning calorimetry and x-ray diffraction patterns indicated that CoQ10 was entrapped inside the disordered semisolid cores of microcapsules. The CoQ10 loading and encapsulation efficiency analysis revealed that GMS and FG helped CoQ10 better encapsulated inside the microcapsules. The in vitro release curve showed a "burst" release of CoQ10 absorbed on the surface of microcapsules for the first 180 min, followed by a sustained release of the encapsulated CoQ10. GMS and FG contributed to the sustained release and the release mechanism of the microcapsules was Fickian diffusion. The in vitro simulated digestion demonstrated that the constructed microcapsules improved the bio-accessibility of CoQ10. Finally, due to the protection of GMS and FG, microcapsules had good storage stability. In conclusion, this study emphasized the potential of using new microcapsules to deliver and protect lipophilic ingredients, providing valuable information for developing functional foods with higher bioavailability.

Natural Polymers as Carriers for Encapsulation of Volatile Oils: Applications and Perspectives in Food Products

The technique of encapsulating different materials into matrices that can both protect and release their contents under specific circumstances is known as encapsulation. It serves the primary function of shielding delicate components from outside influences, including heat, light, and humidity. This can be accomplished by a variety of procedures that, depending on the method and materials selected, result in the creation of particles with various structures. The materials used for encapsulation in food applications must be of high quality, acceptable for human consumption, and stable during processing and storage. The most suitable natural polymers for food applications are carbohydrates, proteins, or mixtures thereof. Volatile oils are end products of plant metabolism, accumulated and stored in various plant organs, cells, or secretory tissues. These are natural and are characterized by the scent of the aromatic plants they come from. Because of their antibacterial and antioxidant qualities, they are being utilized more and more in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Since volatile oils are highly sensitive to environmental changes, they must be stored under specific conditions after being extracted from a variety of plant sources. A promising method for increasing the applicability of volatile oils is their encapsulation into colloidal particles by natural polymers such as carbohydrates and proteins. Encapsulation hides the unfavorable taste of nutrients while shielding delicate dietary ingredients from the effects of heat, moisture, oxygen, and pH. This technique results in improved stability for volatile oils that are often sensitive to environmental factors and offers the possibility of using them in an aqueous system even if they are insoluble in water. This paper aims to provide an overview of the current advances in volatile oil encapsulation technologies and presents a variety of natural polymers used in the food industry for encapsulation. Also, a distinct section is created to highlight the current advances in dairy products enriched with encapsulated volatile oils.

Contemporary Aspects of Designing Marine Polysaccharide Microparticles as Drug Carriers for Biomedical Application

The main goal of modern pharmaceutical technology is to create new drug formulations that are safer and more effective. These formulations should allow targeted drug delivery, improved drug stability and bioavailability, fewer side effects, and reduced drug toxicity. One successful approach for achieving these objectives is using polymer microcarriers for drug delivery. They are effective for treating various diseases through different administration routes. When creating pharmaceutical systems, choosing the right drug carrier is crucial. Biomaterials have become increasingly popular over the past few decades due to their lack of toxicity, renewable sources, and affordability. Marine polysaccharides, in particular, have been widely used as substitutes for synthetic polymers in drug carrier applications. Their inherent properties, such as biodegradability and biocompatibility, make marine polysaccharide-based microcarriers a prospective platform for developing drug delivery systems. This review paper explores the principles of microparticle design using marine polysaccharides as drug carriers. By reviewing the current literature, the paper highlights the challenges of formulating polymer microparticles, and proposes various technological solutions. It also outlines future perspectives for developing marine polysaccharides as drug microcarriers.

Artemisinin hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex loaded with porous starch for enhanced bioavailability

The current work aimed to enhance the oral bioavailability of water-insoluble drug Artemisinin (ART) by the inclusion of ART with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) and then loaded with porous starch (PS). The preparation conditions of ART HP-β-CD inclusion complex loaded with PS (AHPS) were optimized according to drug loading (DL) and entrapment efficiency (EE). The properties of AHPS were characterized by optical and thermodynamic methods. ART was linked by hydrogen bond to HP-β-CD to form hydrophilic supramolecules, which are loaded into PS under the action of hydrogen bond. The maximum DL and EE of AHPS were about 16.51% and 67.26%, respectively. Then we investigated the physicochemical properties and antimalarial activity of AHPS. The solubility and bioavailability of AHPS at 48 h were higher than ART and market ART piperaquine tablets (APT), and showed better antimalarial activity in vitro and vivo. It provides a new idea for the development and application of fat-soluble drug.

Entrapment of natural compounds in spray-dried and heat-dried iota-carrageenan matrices as functional ingredients in surimi gels

Two drying methods (spray drying and heat drying) were used to entrap various natural compounds within a matrix of iota-carrageenan. The natural compounds were, namely, collagen hydrolysate (CH), pomegranate polyphenolic extract (PP) and shrimp lipid extract (SL). The resulting dry powders were compared in terms of water solubility, entrapment efficiency, hydrodynamic particle properties, ζ potential and antioxidant properties (ABTS radical scavenging capacity, ferric ion reducing power and Folin-reactive substances). Dry powders and plain compounds were incorporated into squid surimi gels, and after in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion (sGID), the residual antioxidant and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory activities were evaluated. All powders showed antioxidant properties, electronegative ζ potential and great entrapment efficiency after rehydration (ranging from ∼70 to 97%). The heat-dried powders were composed of microparticles ranging from 177 to 380 μm resulting in low water solubility (21.6-36.1%), while the average particle size and solubility values of spray-dried preparations were 2.9-13.2 μm and >86%, respectively. In contrast to the plain compounds, the addition of any of the microparticle dried preparations allowed obtaining well-conformed surimi gels. The ACE-inhibitory capacity of the surimi gels after sGID was increased by the addition of any of the compounds studied, but to a lesser extent by their entrapment forms (except with the entrapped SL). The antioxidant activities of gels with the entrapped compounds were even lower than those of gels without bioactives in some cases. In conclusion, the addition of dried microparticles did not increase the biological activity as compared to the plain compounds; however, they were beneficial to ensure adequate gel consistency.

Carrageenan: Drug Delivery Systems and Other Biomedical Applications

Marine resources are today a renewable source of various compounds, such as polysaccharides, that are used in the pharmaceutical, medical, cosmetic, and food fields. In recent years, considerable attention has been focused on carrageenan-based biomaterials due to their multifunctional qualities, including biodegradability, biocompatibility, and non-toxicity, in addition to bioactive attributes, such as their antiviral, antibacterial, antihyperlipidemic, anticoagulant, antioxidant, antitumor, and immunomodulating properties. They have been applied in pharmaceutical formulations as both their bioactive and physicochemical properties make them suitable biomaterials for drug delivery, and recently for the development of tissue engineering. This article provides a review of recent research on the various types of carrageenan-based biomedical and pharmaceutical applications.

Carrageenan: A Wonder Polymer from Marine Algae for Potential Drug Delivery Applications

BACKGROUND

With the advancement in the field of medical science, the idea of sustained release of the therapeutic agents in the patient's body has remained a major thrust for developing advanced drug delivery systems (DDSs). The critical requirement for fabricating these DDSs is to facilitate the delivery of their cargos in a spatio-temporal and pharmacokinetically-controlled manner. Albeit the synthetic polymer-based DDSs normally address the above-mentioned conditions, their potential cytotoxicity and high cost have ultimately constrained their success. Consequently, the utilization of natural polymers for the fabrication of tunable DDSs owing to their biocompatible, biodegradable, and non-toxic nature can be regarded as a significant stride in the field of drug delivery. Marine environment serves as an untapped resource of varied range of materials such as polysaccharides, which can easily be utilized for developing various DDSs.

METHODS

Carrageenans are the sulfated polysaccharides that are extracted from the cell wall of red seaweeds. They exhibit an assimilation of various biological activities such as anti-thrombotic, anti-viral, anticancer, and immunomodulatory properties. The main aim of the presented review is threefold. The first one is to describe the unique physicochemical properties and structural composition of different types of carrageenans. The second is to illustrate the preparation methods of the different carrageenan-based macro- and micro-dimensional DDSs like hydrogels, microparticles, and microspheres respectively. Fabrication techniques of some advanced DDSs such as floating hydrogels, aerogels, and 3-D printed hydrogels have also been discussed in this review. Next, considerable attention has been paid to list down the recent applications of carrageenan-based polymeric architectures in the field of drug delivery.

RESULTS

Presence of structural variations among the different carrageenan types helps in regulating their temperature and ion-dependent sol-to-gel transition behavior. The constraint of low mechanical strength of reversible gels can be easily eradicated using chemical crosslinking techniques. Carrageenan based-microdimesional DDSs (e.g. microspheres, microparticles) can be utilized for easy and controlled drug administration. Moreover, carrageenans can be fabricated as 3-D printed hydrogels, floating hydrogels, and aerogels for controlled drug delivery applications.

CONCLUSION

In order to address the problems associated with many of the available DDSs, carrageenans are establishing their worth recently as potential drug carriers owing to their varied range of properties. Different architectures of carrageenans are currently being explored as advanced DDSs. In the near future, translation of carrageenan-based advanced DDSs in the clinical applications seems inevitable.

Ultrasound-mediated fucoxanthin rich oil nanoemulsions stabilized by κ-carrageenan: Process optimization, bio-accessibility and cytotoxicity

This work aims to produce and optimize a κ-carrageenan-based nanoemulsion (NE) to encapsulate seaweed oil, which is rich in fucoxanthin (FX), using ultrasound-assisted emulsification. κ-Carrageenan was produced using subcritical water, and seaweed oil was extracted using supercritical carbon dioxide with sunflower oil as the co-solvent. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to understand the influence of several process parameters such as ultrasound amplitude, time, temperature, and duty cycle to produce an NE. The RSM factor was used to focus on droplet size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, viscosity, antioxidant, FX, encapsulation efficiency, and emulsion stability. Our outcomes suggested that the ultrasound process had a noteworthy influence on the NE. The best conditions to obtain an NE were an ultrasound amplitude of 87 µm, a sonication time of 394 s, a temperature of 60 °C, and a duty cycle of 50%. The resulting NE was studied by UV-Vis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Moreover, the NE obtained from optimized conditions was checked for fatty acid content, color, oxidative stability, in vitro digestion, bioaccessibility of FX, and cytotoxicity. The results obtained suggest that lower droplet size of the emulsion can improve oxidative stability, in vitro digestion, bioaccessibility of FX, and good cell inhibition against a few cell lines. Therefore, a κ-carrageenan-stabilized NE can be used as a potential delivery system to endorse applications of seaweed oil, which is rich in FX, in functional foods, beverage systems, and pharmaceuticals.