Extraction of bioactive compounds from Philodendron bipinnatifidum Schott ex Endl and encapsulation in PHBV by SEDS technique

Abstract

Philodendron bipinnatifidum Schott ex Endl is a plant used in popular medicine with pharmacological actions already proven by scientific studies. The aim of this work was to investigate the application of Solution Enhanced Dispersion by Supercritical Fluids (SEDS) technique in the encapsulation of P. bipinnatifidum extract, rich in β-Sitosterol, in poly (hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) biopolymer (PHBV). A 22 Central Composite Design (CCD) with 3 central points was used to assess the influence of extract concentration (5.0, 12.5 and 20.0 mg mL−1) and temperature (35.0, 37.5 and 40.0 °C) on particle size and encapsulation efficiency. Most of experiments obtained spherical particles and the highest encapsulation efficiency (89.56%) was verified using 20.0 mg mL−1 of extract concentration (ratio 1:1 extract and PHBV) and temperature of 35.0 °C. Also, the lowest medium particle size was achieved in these conditions, resulting in 0.622 ± 0.232 μm. The GC/MS analysis of the particles demonstrated that the process caused little variation in the chemical composition of the extract, maintaining its main constituents, such as the phytosterols campesterol, stigmasterol and β-sitosterol. The β-sitosterol compound had an increase of about 35% in its concentration in the extract after the encapsulation process. The results demonstrate the possibility of applying SEDS technique to encapsulate extracts with bioactive compounds of phytosterols class.