Physicochemical and in-vitro release characteristics of vitamin C-loaded antioxidant orally disintegrating films with different catechin levels

Abstract

To develop a convenient food formulation for supplying antioxidants, hyaluronic acid (HA)-based orally disintegrating film (ODF) containing vitamin C (Vit C) and catechin (CAT) with various molar ratios (Vit C:CAT, 1:0, 1:0.2, 1:0.4, 1:0.6, 1:0.8 and 1:1.0, by name of CAT0, CAT0.2, CAT0.4, CAT0.6, CAT0.8 and CAT1.0, respectively) were prepared, and the physico-chemical, and sensory properties of the films were analyzed. In addition, the release properties of the Vit C and CAT in the films were also evaluated. In the results, there was no significant difference in the moisture content among the films, but the thickness significantly increased with the CAT amount. The water vapor permeability (WVP) started decreasing at CAT0.4. For texture, the addition of CAT decreased tensile strength, and showed inverse relationship with film thickness. Also higher the CAT content was, the more brittle and fragile the texture obtained film. The vitamin C content in the film significantly decreased as the CAT content increased, whereas the antioxidant effects continued to increase with CAT content. In a sensory evaluation, CAT0.2 was the most preferred, followed by CAT0 and CAT0.4, and for those samples containing over 0.6 M ratio CAT, the acceptability dramatically decreased. Based on the above results, the most suitable molar ratio of Vit C:CAT was 1:0.4. As a result of the analysis of the release pattern of the optimized ODF (CAT0.4), both Vit C and CAT exhibited rapid release of over 70% within 30 and 20 min, respectively, in all simulated body fluids. So the prepared ODF can be considered as a suitable delivery formulation for convenient and fast-acting antioxidant.