title: Production of stable food-grade microencapsulated astaxanthin by vibrating nozzle technology.
abstract: Astaxanthin is a carotenoid known for its strong antioxidant and health-promoting characteristics, but it is also highly degradable and thus unsuited for several applications. We developed a sustainable method for the extraction and the production of stable astaxanthin microencapsulates. Nearly 2% astaxanthin was extracted by high-pressure homogenization of dried Haematococcus pluvialis cells in soybean oil. Astaxanthin-enriched oil was encapsulated in alginate and low-methoxyl pectin by Ca2+-mediated vibrating-nozzle extrusion technology. The 3% pectin microbeads resulted the best compromise between sphericity and oil retention upon drying. We monitored the stability of these astaxanthin beads under four different conditions of light, temperature and oxygen exposition. After 52weeks, the microbeads showed a total-astaxanthin retention of 94.1±4.1% (+4°C/-light/+O2), 83.1±3.2% (RT/-light/-O2), 38.3±2.2% (RT/-light/+O2), and 57.0±0.4% (RT/+light/+O2), with different degradation kinetics. Refrigeration, therefore, resulted the optimal storage condition to preserve astaxanthin stability.
authors.affiliation: University of Verona, Department of Biotechnology, Verona 37134, Italy.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vakarelova
authors.affiliation: University of Verona, Department of Biotechnology, Verona 37134, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zanoni
authors.affiliation: University of Verona, Department of Biotechnology, Verona 37134, Italy.
authors.forename: Piergiovanni
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lardo
authors.affiliation: University of Verona, Department of Biotechnology, Verona 37134, Italy; AlgainEnergy srl, Sommacampagna, Verona 37066, Italy.
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rossin
authors.affiliation: University of Verona, Department of Biotechnology, Verona 37134, Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mainente
authors.affiliation: University of Verona, Department of Biotechnology, Verona 37134, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chignola
authors.affiliation: University of Verona, Department of Biotechnology, Verona 37134, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Menin
authors.affiliation: University of Verona, Department of Biotechnology, Verona 37134, Italy.
authors.forename: Corrado
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rizzi
authors.affiliation: University of Verona, Department of Biotechnology, Verona 37134, Italy. Electronic address: gianni.zoccatelli@univr.it.
authors.forename: Gianni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zoccatelli
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000378:metabolism; D000460:Chlorophyta / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D003890:Desiccation / Q000379:methods; D004339:Drug Compounding / Q000379:methods*; D004355:Drug Stability; D008027:Light; D013696:Temperature; D014732:Vibration; D024341:Xanthophylls / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D024341:Xanthophylls; D002338:Carotenoids; C005948:astaxanthine
keywords: Astaxanthin; Astaxanthin (PubChem CID: 5281224); Beads; Haematococcus pluvialis; Microencapsulation; Pectin; Vibrating nozzle technology