Luna-Finkler Christine L, Gomes Aralí da C, de Aguiar Júnior Francisco C A, Ribeiro Ester, de Melo Barbosa Raquel, Severino Patricia, Santini Antonello, Souto Eliana B
Department of Antibiotics, Federal University of Pernambuco, Cidade Universitária, Recife 50670-901, PE, Brazil.
Academic Center of Vitória, Federal University of Pernambuco, R. Alto do Reservatório, s/n, Bela Vista, Vitória de Santo Antão 55608-250, PE, Brazil.
Foods. 2024 May 23;13(11):1622. doi: 10.3390/foods13111622.
Bixin is the main carotenoid found in the outer portion of the seeds of L., commercially known as annatto. This compound is industrially employed in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food formulations as a natural dye to replace chemical additives. This study aimed to extract bixin from annatto seeds and obtain encapsulated bixin in a powder form, using freeze-drying encapsulation and maltodextrin as encapsulating agent. Bixin was extracted from annatto seeds employing successive washing with organic solvents, specifically hexane and methanol (1:1 /), followed by ethyl acetate and dichloromethane for subsequent washes, to effectively remove impurities and enhance bixin purity, and subsequent purification by crystallization, reaching 1.5 ± 0.2% yield (or approximately 15 mg of bixin per gram of seeds). Bixin was analyzed spectrophotometrically in different organic solvents (ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, dimethylsulfoxide, chloroform, hexane), and the solvents chosen were chloroform (used to solubilize bixin during microencapsulation) and hexane (used for spectrophotometric determination of bixin). Bixin was encapsulated according to a 2 experimental design to investigate the influence of the concentration of maltodextrin (20 to 40%) and bixin-to-matrix ratio (1:20 to 1:40) on the encapsulation efficiency (EE%) and solubility of the encapsulated powder. Higher encapsulation efficiency was obtained at a maltodextrin concentration of 40% / and a bixin/maltodextrin ratio of 1:20, while higher solubility was observed at a maltodextrin concentration of 20% / for the same bixin/maltodextrin ratio. The encapsulation of this carotenoid by means of freeze-drying is thus recognized as an innovative and promising approach to improve its stability for further processing in pharmaceutical and food applications.
胭脂树橙素是在胭脂树种子外层发现的主要类胡萝卜素，商业上称为红木。这种化合物在工业上被用作药物、化妆品和食品配方中的天然染料，以替代化学添加剂。本研究旨在从红木种子中提取胭脂树橙素，并使用冷冻干燥包封法和麦芽糖糊精作为包封剂，获得粉末形式的包封胭脂树橙素。采用有机溶剂（具体为己烷和甲醇（1:1））连续洗涤从红木种子中提取胭脂树橙素，随后用乙酸乙酯和二氯甲烷进行后续洗涤，以有效去除杂质并提高胭脂树橙素纯度，然后通过结晶进行纯化，产率达到1.5±0.2%（即每克种子约含15毫克胭脂树橙素）。在不同有机溶剂（乙醇、异丙醇、二甲基亚砜、氯仿、己烷）中对胭脂树橙素进行分光光度分析，选择的溶剂为氯仿（用于微胶囊化过程中溶解胭脂树橙素）和己烷（用于分光光度法测定胭脂树橙素）。根据二因素实验设计对胭脂树橙素进行包封，以研究麦芽糖糊精浓度（20%至40%）和胭脂树橙素与基质比例（1:20至1:40）对包封效率（EE%）和包封粉末溶解度的影响。在麦芽糖糊精浓度为40%且胭脂树橙素/麦芽糖糊精比例为1:20时获得了较高的包封效率，而在相同的胭脂树橙素/麦芽糖糊精比例下，麦芽糖糊精浓度为20%时观察到较高的溶解度。因此，通过冷冻干燥对这种类胡萝卜素进行包封被认为是一种创新且有前景的方法，可提高其稳定性，以便在制药和食品应用中进一步加工。
