Effect of oil type and fatty acid chain length on the formation of β-carotene microemulsions for application in food science (original) (raw)

2014

Abstract

ABSTRACT The utilisation of β-carotene in food and beverage products is limited due to their poor water solubility, chemical instability and low bioavailability. Microemulsions are of particular interest as colloidal delivery systems because of the possibility of enhancing the solubility and improving the bioavailability of hydrophobic compounds. However, these systems have not been widely used in the food industry because of the difficulties in their formulation using edible oils and surfactants. The purpose of this study was to compare the pseudo-ternary phase diagram of β-carotene microemulsion prepared using long chain length fatty acids (vegetable oils) and medium chain length fatty acids (Caprylic/Capric triglyceride). The solubility of β-carotene was measured by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (HPLC). The solubility of β-carotene in long chain triglycerides was higher than medium chain triglyceride. Among Tweens that were screened, Tween 80 exhibited the highest solubilizing potential for β-carotene. However, the microemulsion region of a ternary phase diagram containing medium chain triglycerides (Captex 355) was larger than for long-chain length fatty acids (vegetable oils) when Tween 80 was used as surfactant. This study suggests that, due to the difficulty of using vegetable oils in microemulsion formulations, emulsion system composed of medium chain triglyceride such as Captex 355 could be used to prepare food grade β-carotene microemulsion.

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