Encapsulation of Lutein via Microfluidic Technology: Evaluation of Stability and In Vitro Bioaccessibility

Abstract

Inadequate intake of lutein is relevant to a higher risk of age-related eye diseases. However, lutein has been barely incorporated into foods efficiently because it is prone to degradation and is poorly bioaccessible in the gastrointestinal tract. Microfluidics, a novel food processing technology that can control fluid flows at the microscale, can enable the efficient encapsulation of bioactive compounds by fabricating suitable delivery structures. Hence, the present study aimed to evaluate the stability and the bioaccessibility of lutein that is encapsulated in a new noodle-like product made via microfluidic technology. Two types of oils (safflower oil (SO) and olive oil (OL)) were selected as a delivery vehicle for lutein, and two customized microfluidic devices (co-flow and combination-flow) were used. Lutein encapsulation was created by the following: (i) co-flow + SO, (ii) co-flow + OL, (iii) combination-flow + SO, and (iv) combination-flow + OL. The initial encapsulation of lutein in the noodle-like product was achieved at 86.0 ± 2.7%. Although lutein’s stability experienced a decreasing trend, the retention of lutein was maintained above 60% for up to seven days of storage. The two types of device did not result in a difference in lutein bioaccessibility (co-flow: 3.1 ± 0.5%; combination-flow: 3.6 ± 0.6%) and SO and OL also showed no difference in lutein bioaccessibility (SO: 3.4 ± 0.8%; OL: 3.3 ± 0.4%). These results suggest that the types of oil and device do not affect the lutein bioaccessibility. Findings from this study may provide scientific insights into emulsion-based delivery systems that employ microfluidics for the encapsulation of bioactive compounds into foods.

Compostos bioativos presentes no azeite de oliva e seus subprodutos: revisão bibliográfica

“…Dentre os diversos processos tecnológicos pode-se citar: uso de microondas (Cherif, Rodrigues, et al, 2021), gel de emulsão (Alongi, et al, 2022;Muñoz-González, et al, 2021), armazenamento em shotgun lipidomics (Capriotti et al, 2021), armazenamento reduzido (BELTRAN et al, 2021, sensor analítico ecológico (Jebril et al, 2021), ultrassom (Del Coco et al, 2021, casca da cebola amarela como estabilizador (CRNIVEC et al, 2021), caracterização sensorial pelo método CATA (Melo et al, 2021), cromatografia (Marx et al, 2021), temperatura adequada de malaxação (Marx et al, 2021;Olmo-Cunillera et al, 2021), encapsulação (Tirado, et al, 2021;Vehapi, et al, 2020;Yao et al, 2021), acréscimo de especiaria , métodos de informática para prever alvos moleculares (Fatoki, et al, 2021), membranas de emulsão a base de líquido iônico (Khan et al, 2021).…”

Preparation and Characterization of Lutein Co-Amorphous Formulation with Enhanced Solubility and Dissolution

“…Digestive fluids are primarily composed of water, making the limited solubility of lutein in water a significant obstacle to its absorption in the gastrointestinal tract, thereby reducing its bioavailability [8]. Additionally, the low solubility of lutein in water restricts its usage in the food and pharmaceutical industries.…”

Development and performance evaluation of amorphous microencapsules containing lutein nanoparticles via antisolvent precipitation followed by spray/freeze‐drying

“…The latter, combined with a difficult release in the digestive tract, is responsible for the poor oral bioavailability of hydrophobic compounds (Yao et al ., 2021). Various strategies, such as chemical modification, complexation, solubilisers/cosolvents, lipid‐based emulsification, amorphisation, and nanotechnology, have been developed to improve their dissolution properties.…”