No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Biologically active compounds from plants have attracted great interest due to their affordability, effectiveness and low toxicity. Herbal extracts provide an infinite resource of raw materials for pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industry. Unfortunately, use of the valuable natural compounds can be limited by their low bioavailability, volatilization of active compounds, sensitivity to the temperature, oxidation and UV light, in vivo instability, as well as unpleasant taste. One of the potential strategies to overcome these issues is microencapsulation of the biologically active ingredients. In this review, preparation, applications and limitations of the most popular techniques for microencapsulation, such as spray drying, fluid bed coating, encapsulation using supercritical fluids, freeze drying, ionic gelation, emulsification-solvent removal methods and formulation of liposomes, were discussed. Also, microparticles properties produced by presented microencapsulation methods were interpreted.

No abstract

This article describes the preparation, characterization, and application of W/O/W emulsions, with emphasis on the encapsulation of plant bioactives. The main limitations preventing commercialization of double emulsions with plant bioactive substances, used for the preparation of food, nutraceuticalsand pharmaceuticals for oral administration, are low thermodynamic stability and the limited range of the available lipophilic emulsifiers. In that regard, strategies for stability improvement of W/O/W emulsions with bioactive substances are highlighted.

Willowherb (Epilobium angustifolium L.) leaves are a valuable source of polyphenolic compounds (phenolic acids, flavonoids, and ellagitannins) that are mainly used in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. In the presented study, the impacts of maltodextrin and whey protein as carriers on the efficiency of spray drying and physicochemical properties of the obtained powders were examined. The use of carriers significantly improved the drying yield (over 60 %). Moisture content, hygroscopicity, and rehydration time of all dried extracts (without the carrier, with maltodextrin and whey protein) were at an acceptable level, while their flowability and cohesiveness were poor. The encapsulation efficiency of polyphenols in a whey protein carrier of 92.02 % was significantly higher compared to 75.80 % for maltodextrin. These results show that whey protein efficiently encloses the extract ingredients into powder particles and thus preserves sensitive phenolic compounds during the drying process. The efficacy of flavonoid encapsulation was also high (93.00 % for maltodextrin and 94.34 % for whey protein), with no statistically significant differences between carrier types. Therefore, willowherb leaves extract can be successfully encapsulated by spray drying using maltodextrin and whey protein as carriers.

No abstract