Physical and chemical properties of roselle extract nanocapsule with inulin, chitosan and maltodextrin as encapsulant

Roselle contains high phenolic compounds, mainly anthocyanins that are not stable withpH, metal ions, light exposure, temperature, oxygen, and enzymatic activity. The stabilityof phenolic compounds can be improved by nanoencapsulation. This research was aimedto evaluate the effect of inulin, inulin-chitosan and inulin-chitosan-maltodextrin withvarying concentrations as encapsulants towards the physicochemical properties andencapsulation efficiency of nanocapsules product by spray drying. Roselle extractnanocapsules were prepared using various types and concentrations of encapsulants(inulin, inulin-chitosan and inulin-chitosan-maltodextrin). The solubility of nanocapsulesranged from 69.31 - 83.2%, while the hygroscopicity of nanocapsules was varied,approximately 17.89 - 23.79%. Nanocapsules moisture content was approximately 2.83 -4.27%, while the total phenolic content of nanocapsules ranged from 6.74 - 13.41 mgGAE/g DW. The total anthocyanin of roselle extract nanocapsules was approximately2.25 - 4.82 mg/g DW. The encapsulation efficiency of phenolic compounds in this studywere approximately 60.31 - 77.13%. Nanocapsules with inulin-chitosan-maltodextrin(2.4%-2.4%-0.2%) had good properties of nanocapsules such as good solubility, high totalphenolic content and total anthocyanin content. Nanocapsules with 5% inulin and inulinchitosan-maltodextrin (2.4%-2.4%-0.2%) had particle size of 641.4 and 411.1 nmrespectively. The nanocapsules had a spherical shape, smooth surfaces but also a few hadindentations.