Resveratrol is a natural polyphenol with low bioavailability because of poor hydro-solubility and extensive first-pass effect. The delivery to oral mucosa via oral fast dissolving films (OFDFs) is a useful administration route to bypass the first-pass metabolism through direct adsorption into the systemic circulation. In this study, the OFDFs was fabricated with loading of excessive and soluble resveratrol in various ratios of whey protein isolate (WPI) and alginate. The solubility of resveratrol was improved in the presence of WPI and/or alginate, which was further affected by glycerol. The OFDFs were characterized in term of thickness, disintegration time, intermolecular interaction, structure, mechanical properties and thermal degradation. At a glycerol/biopolymer ratio of 1:2 and the WPI/alginate ratios between 5:1 and 1:1, the OFDFs disintegrated within 30 s and completely dissolved within 60 s, containing 30–50 μg/cm2 dissolved resveratrol in water. The permeation percentage of 89% was the most at the WPI/alginate ratio of 3:1. Oral mucosa permeation of resveratrol in OFDFs was significantly greater than that in the corresponding film solution. The films exhibited fast disintegration and promotion of resveratrol permeation. These results demonstrate that WPI and alginate were effective in the preparation of OFDFs for enhancing the permeability of resveratrol. It is thus suggested that biopolymer-based OFDFs are potential carriers for oral delivery of polyphenols.
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