Abstract
Pomegranate peel is an agro-industrial waste that can be used as source of punicalagin, a polyphenolic compound with several beneficial effects on health. Since, once extracted, punicalagin is prone to degradation, its encapsulation by double emulsions can be an alternative to protect the active compound and control its release. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the feasibility of encapsulating pomegranate peel extract (PPE) in double emulsions using different types of oils (castor, soybean, sunflower, Miglyol and orange) in a ratio of 70:30 (oil:PPE) and emulsification methods (direct membrane emulsification and mechanical agitation), using polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) and Tween 80 as lipophilic and hydrophilic emulsifiers, respectively. Direct membrane emulsification (DME) led to more stable emulsions during storage. Droplet size, span values, morphology and encapsulation efficiency (EE) were better for double emulsions (DEs) prepared by DME than for mechanical agitation (MA). DEs formulated using Miglyol or sunflower oil as the oily phase could be considered as suitable food grade systems to encapsulate punicalagin with concentrations up to 11,000 mg/L of PPE.
Highlights
In the last decade, interest in pomegranate fruit (Punica granatum) has increased since its consumption is associated with preventive and attenuating activities against numerous chronic and health/life-threatening maladies such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases [1]
The results indicated that intermediate oil viscosities are more appropriate to12 ensure the stability of the large double emulsions (DEs), avoiding coalescence and swelling phenomena
pomegranate peel extract (PPE) was efficiently encapsulated in W1 /O/W2 DEs
Summary
Interest in pomegranate fruit (Punica granatum) has increased since its consumption is associated with preventive and attenuating activities against numerous chronic and health/life-threatening maladies such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases [1]. Juice yield is only the 40% of the whole fruit, and the remaining corresponds to pomegranate by-products considered wastes such as pomegranate peel (PP), seeds and mesocarp [2]. Food loss and waste generates an environmental, social and economic impact [3]. For this reason, the 2030 agenda for the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) set food waste reduction targets (SDG 12) [4]. Several studies have shown it contains phenolic compounds such as phenolic acids, flavonoids and hydrolysable tannins [5] These last are known as ellagitannins, with punicalagin being the most important compound [6]
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