Application of low-, and medium-molecular weight chitosan for preparation of spray-dried microparticles loaded with Ferulago angulata essential oil: Physicochemical, antioxidant, antibacterial and in-vitro release properties.

The present work aimed at spray-drying encapsulation of Chavir (Ferulago angulata) essential oil (EO) using low-, and medium-molecular weight chitosan. The obtained EO was observed to be mainly composed of ß-ocimene, α-pinene, and bornyl acetate with antioxidant, and antimicrobial activity. The results indicated that stable emulsions with uniform particle size distribution and encapsulation efficiencies higher than 93 % could be prepared using chitosan as feed for spray-drying. In addition, spray-drying resulted in fabricating stable microspheres with yields higher than 50 %, uniform particle size, and encapsulation efficiency exceeding 70 %. The microspheres were fairly soluble and hygroscopic, and exhibited antioxidant and bacteriostatic activities with a biphasic release pattern. FTIR characterisation confirmed successful encapsulation of EO and thermal properties of microspheres indicated enhanced stability of EO after microencapsulation. Overall, it was revealed that molecular weight of chitosan and EO:chitosan ratio affects some physicochemical properties of obtained chitosan microspheres.

Physicochemical characterisation of Salvia macrosiphon gum based edible films incorporated with various fatty acids.

In the present study, the influence of different concentrations of three fatty acids (palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids) on improving the physicochemical, barrier, mechanical, thermal and surface properties of Salvia macrosiphon seed gum (SSG) edible films was investigated. The results revealed that the selected fatty acids promoted an increase in hydrophobicity of SSG films; characterized by significantly lower moisture uptake, solubility, water vapour permeability, and considerably higher contact angles. The opacity and tensile strength of SSG films increased by addition of the fatty acids, while elongation at break decreased. The estimated values of surface free energy inferred that dispersive component of surface energy increase by incorporation of the fatty acid, whereas its polar component decreased. Among the selected fatty acids, the efficiency of oleic acid on improving the characteristics of films was higher than saturated fatty acids, i.e., palmitic and stearic acids. Concluding, incorporation of fatty acids to SSG films seems to be necessary to fabricate films with lower affinity to water, especially for those applications that require less hydrophilic films.