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Solubilization of lycopene in jojoba oil microemulsion
Author(s) -
Garti Nissim,
Shevachman Marina,
Shani Ar
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of the american oil chemists' society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.512
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1558-9331
pISSN - 0003-021X
DOI - 10.1007/s11746-004-0994-4
Subject(s) - microemulsion , pulmonary surfactant , solubilization , solubility , chemistry , lycopene , chemical engineering , solvent , cosmetics , oil droplet , raw material , chromatography , organic chemistry , emulsion , biochemistry , engineering , antioxidant
The unique properties of jojoba oil make it an essential raw material in the manufacture of cosmetics. New, totally dilutable U‐type microemulsions of water, jojoba oil, alcohols, and the nonionic surfactant polyoxyethylene‐10EO‐oleyl alcohol (Brij 96V) have been formulated recently. Here, these microemulsions are shown to be capable of solubilizing lycopene, a nutraceutical insoluble in water and/or oil, much more effectively than the solvent (or a solvent and surfactant blend) can dissolve them. In water‐in‐oil (W/O) and oil‐in‐water (O/W) microemulsions with 10 and 90 wt% water, respectively, the normalized maximal solubilization efficiency α is ca. 20‐fold larger than its solubility. The solubilization capacity of the system is mainly surfactant‐concentration dependent. The lycopene resides at the interfaces of the W/O and O/W microemulsions and engenders significant structural changes in the organization of the microemulsion droplets. In the absence of lycopene, the droplets are spherical; when lycopene is added, compaction of the droplets and formation of threadlike droplets are observed. On further addition of lycopene, the bridging effect wanes and the droplets revert to a spherical shape. The enhanced solubilization demonstrated for lycopene opens up new options for formulators interested in making liquid and transparent products for cosmetic or pharmaceutical uses.