Quercetin microencapsulated in solid lipid microparticles: shelf life and physico-chemical stability in different processing conditions

Abstract

The increasing interest of the consumers in food products with functional properties is evident, and the incorporation of compounds with this characteristic in food formulations leads to studies aiming to evaluate their absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. Flavonoids have been extensively studied due to their antioxidant properties; however, the incorporation of some of these molecules in food has some problems due to their high level of hydrophobicity. The high hydrophobicity has the drawback of making their solubilization difficult, and also decreasing their intestinal absorption, or, in other words, decreasing their bioavailability. There are systems that are able to increase the absorption of bioactive compounds, as lipid-based encapsulation systems - liposomes, lipid nanoparticles, and emulsions, for example. Lipid particles (micro or nano) have been proved to be a viable alternative to encapsulate food functional bioactive, in order to increase their absorption by the intestine, due to their lipid nature. The performance of these particles as delivery systems can be evaluated by simulating the stomach and duodenal conditions using in vitro processes. In this context, the objective of this investigation project is to evaluate the capacity of encapsulation of quercetin by solid lipid microparticles and their stability in various processing conditions.(AU)