Gelatin/starch orally disintegrating films as a promising system for vitamin C delivery

Abstract

Orally disintegrating films (ODFs) may disintegrate rapidly or slowly when in contact with saliva, acting as carriers of different compounds. The objective of this work was the production of gelatin and starch ODFs as vehicles of vitamin C obtained via a spray-drying method from camu-camu powder. ODFs were produced by mixing gelatin and/or starch as main components, sorbitol as plasticizer, and the powder from camu-camu as an active compound. The ODFs were characterized regarding their visual qualities, mechanical properties, contact angle, surface pH, disintegration time (in vitro and in vivo), ascorbic acid degradation, antioxidant activity stability and sensory attributes. The ODFs were homogeneous and easy to handle. An increased starch concentration in the ODF promoted a significant increase of hydrophilicity and thus, the decrease of in vitro disintegration time. The ODFs also showed a fast in vivo disintegration time. Moreover, the evaluation of the sensory attributes demonstrated that ODF consumption was palatable to the panelists. Therefore, ODFs with camu-camu extract can be used as an efficient and natural supplementary source of vitamin C and as a potential carrier of antioxidant compounds.