Improvement of Stability and Antioxidant Activities by Using Phycocyanin - Chitosan Encapsulation Technique

Controlled Release of Phycocyanin in Simulated Gastrointestinal Conditions Using Alginate-Agavins-Polysaccharide Beads

C-phycocyanin (CPC) is an antioxidant protein that, when purified, is photosensitive and can be affected by environmental and gastrointestinal conditions. This can impact its biological activity, requiring an increase in the effective amount to achieve a therapeutic effect. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a microencapsulate of a complex matrix, as a strategy to protect and establish a matrix for the controlled release of CPC based on polysaccharides such as agavins (AGV) using ionic gelation. Four matrices were formulated: M1 (alginate: ALG), M2 (ALG and AGV), M3 (ALG, AGV, and κ-carrageenan: CGN), and M4 (ALG, AGV, CGN, and carboxymethylcellulose: CMC) with increasing concentrations of CPC. The retention and diffusion capacities of C-phycocyanin provided by each matrix were evaluated, as well as their stability under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. The results showed that the encapsulation efficiency of the matrix-type encapsulates with complex composites increased as more components were added to the mixtures. CMC increased the retention due to the hydrophobicity that it provides by being in the polysaccharide matrix; CGN enabled the controlled diffusive release; and AGV provided protection of the CPC beads under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Therefore, matrix M4 exhibited an encapsulation efficiency for CPC of 98% and a bioaccessibility of 10.65 ± 0.65% after the passage of encapsulates through in vitro digestion.

Chitosan Sponges for Efficient Accumulation and Controlled Release of C-Phycocyanin

The paper proposed a new porous material for wound healing based on chitosan and C-phycocyanin (C-PC). In this work, C-PC was extracted from the cyanobacteria Arthrospira platensis biomass and purified through ammonium sulfate precipitation. The obtained C-PC with a purity index (PI) of 3.36 ± 0.24 was loaded into a chitosan sponge from aqueous solutions of various concentrations (250, 500, and 1000 mg/L). According to the FTIR study, chitosan did not form new bonds with C-PC, but acted as a carrier. The encapsulation efficiency value exceeded 90%, and the maximum loading capacity was 172.67 ± 0.47 mg/g. The release of C-PC from the polymer matrix into the saline medium was estimated, and it was found 50% of C-PC was released in the first hour and the maximum concentration was reached in 5-7 h after the sponge immersion. The PI of the released C-PC was 3.79 and 4.43 depending on the concentration of the initial solution.

Phycobiliproteins, the pigment-protein complex form of natural food colorants and bioactive ingredients

Currently, the use of synthetic pigments in foods is restricted since synthetic pigments are proven and suspected to be harmful to human health. Phycobiliproteins (PBPs), existed in phycobilisomes (PBSs) of algae, are a kind of pigment-proteins with intense color. The specific color of PBPs (red and blue) is given by the water-soluble open-chained tetrapyrrole chromophore (phycobilin) that covalently attaches to the apo-protein via thioether linkages to cysteine residues. According to the spectral characteristics of PBPs, they can be categorized as phycoerythrins (PEs), phycocyanins (PCs), allophycocyanins (APCs), and phycoerythrocyanins (PECs). PBPs can be used as natural food colorants, fluorescent substances, and bioactive ingredients in food applications owing to their color characteristics and physiological activities. This paper mainly summarizes the extraction and purification methods of the PBPs and reviews their characteristics and applications. Moreover, the use of several strategies such as additives, microencapsulation, electrospray, and cross-linking to improve the stability and bioavailability of PBPs as well as the future outlooks of PBPs as natural colorants in food commercialization are elucidated.

Microencapsulation of Ruellia tuberosa L. Aqueous Root Extracts Using Chitosan-Sodium Tripolyphosphate and Their In Vitro Biological Activities

The current study aims to perform microencapsulation of R. tuberosa L. extracts using chitosan crosslinked to sodium tripolyphosphate (NaTPP) as wall materials by spray drying and to analyze their in vitro biological activities. The influence of manufacturing conditions, like pH, chitosan concentration, and stirrer time, was assessed. Results showed that microcapsules prepared in pH 4 with a concentration of 0.1% (w/v) chitosan, and 90 min stirring time had 51.80% encapsulation efficiency and high in vitro biological activity. These were shown by high in vitro alpha amylase inhibition and antioxidant activity with IC₅₀ values of 50.65 μg/mL and 123.97 μg/mL, respectively. Releases of the bioactive compounds in microcapsules of R. tuberosa L. were carried out on phosphate buffer medium pH 2.2 and pH 7.4 with times release of 30, 60, 90, and 120 min. The bioactive compounds were released in pH 2.2 in 120 min at 2.48%. At pH 7.4, the active ingredients were more easily released, by 79.90% in 120 min. The microcapsules' morphology showed a rough surface with spherical forms and the average sizes were 53.41 μm. This study supports the essential role of microencapsulation in improving plant extracts with reserved biological activities.

Technological and Sensory Aspects of Macaroni with Free or Encapsulated Azolla Fern Powder

Azolla might be considered an alternative and promising dietary ingredient for antioxidants. There have not been any reports on the incorporation of free Azolla fern powder (FAP) or its microcapsules in foods, especially fresh pasta, yet. Microencapsulation was used to mask the undesirable taste and odour of Azolla, as well as to preserve its antioxidant potential. The current study concentrated on two major goals. The first goal was to use alginate as a wall material for FAP encapsulation, as well as to characterise the FAP microcapsule for its encapsulation efficiency, solubility, and thermal stability. The second goal was to assess the impact of integrating FAP or its microcapsules into fresh macaroni on its colour parameters, cooking quality, texture properties, and sensory characteristics. The microspheres had a high encapsulation efficiency (88.19%) and a low water solubility (85.23 g/kg), making them suitable for use in foods that require cooking in water. When compared to free Azolla powder, encapsulation reduced the antioxidant activity loss rate by 67.73%. All the cooking and textural properties of fresh macaroni were not significantly affected, except for water absorption and weight gain, but the overall acceptability index (85.13%) was not affected by microcapsule incorporation.

Effect of Lipopeptide-Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles on Candida albicans Adhesion and on the Growth of Leishmania major

Cyclic lipopeptides produced by Bacillus species exhibit interesting therapeutic potential. However, their clinical use remains limited due to their low stability, undesirable interactions with host macromolecules, and their potential toxicity to mammalian cells. The present work aims to develop suitable lipopeptide-loaded chitosan nanoparticles with improved biological properties and reduced toxicity. Surfactin and bacillomycin D lipopeptides produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens B84 strain were loaded onto chitosan nanoparticles by ionotropic gelation process. Nanoformulated lipopeptides exhibit an average size of 569 nm, a zeta potential range of 38.8 mV, and encapsulation efficiency (EE) of 85.58%. Treatment of Candida (C.) albicans cells with encapsulated lipopeptides induced anti-adhesive activity of 81.17% and decreased cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) by 25.53% at 2000 µg/mL. Nanoformulated lipopeptides also induced antileishmanial activity against Leishmania (L.) major promastigote and amastigote forms at respective IC₅₀ values of 14.37 µg/mL and 22.45 µg/mL. Nanoencapsulated lipopeptides exerted low cytotoxicity towards human erythrocytes and Raw 264.7 macrophage cell line with respective HC₅₀ and LC₅₀ values of 770 µg/mL and 234.56 µg/mL. Nanoencapsulated lipopeptides could be used as a potential delivery system of lipopeptides to improve their anti-adhesive effect against C. albicans cells colonizing medical devices and their anti-infectious activity against leishmania.

Effects of Carrageenan and Chitosan as Coating Materials on the Thermal Degradation of Microencapsulated Phycocyanin from Spirulina sp

Phycocyanin is a natural substance that can be used as an antioxidant and food colorant. The quality of phycocyanin deteriorates when it is exposed to heat, and such deterioration is evidenced by decreases in its antioxidant activity and color. Encapsulation, which introduces a coating material over a substance of interest, has been applied to prevent changes in substance quality. The objective of the present research is to evaluate the kinetics of thermal degradation of phycocyanin coated with carrageenan or chitosan. Encapsulated phycocyanin samples were exposed to temperatures of 40, 50, or 60 °C for 90 min, and kinetics of the resulting degradation was evaluated to determine changes in sample quality. The results showed that the thermal degradation of encapsulated phycocyanin at 40–60 °C follows first-order reaction kinetics with reaction rate constants (k) of 4.67–9.17 × 10–5 s-1 and 3.83–7.67 × 10–5 s-1 for carrageenan and chitosan, respectively, and that the k of encapsulated phycocyanin is slower than that obtained from samples without the coating materials (control). Encapsulation efficiencies (EE) of 68.66 % and 76.45 %, as well as loading capacities of 45.28 % and 49.16 %, were, respectively, obtained for carrageenan and chitosan.