Microencapsulation of Saffron Petal Phenolic Extract: Their Characterization, In Vitro Gastrointestinal Digestion, and Storage Stability

Saffron petal, as a byproduct of saffron processing, contains a considerable amount of antioxidant compounds. In the present study, the effect of drying methods (spray and freeze) and different wall structures (maltodextrin and pectin) was investigated on the physicochemical characteristics of microcapsules of saffron petal extracts. Results showed that the increase of the pectin ratio in wall composition leads to the increase of polyphenols content and antioxidant activity of microcapsules. Microencapsulation efficiency and loading capacity in pectin-contained samples were higher than pure maltodextrin samples. Moreover, microcapsules obtained from spray drying method had higher microencapsulation efficiency and loading capacity in comparison with microcapsules obtained from freeze drying method. Also, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry have been shown to be useful tools for establishing the difference between produced microcapsules. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to evaluate the polyphenolic compounds of the microsphere. The chromatograms obtained from both encapsulation methods indicated high levels of routine in microcapsules of saffron petal extract. In addition, the release of polyphenols from microcapsules of saffron petal extract was evaluated under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. The results indicated that the release behavior of the microcapsules varied according to the type of drying method and wall composition. To assess the shelf life, the microcapsules were kept at different temperatures and relative humidities for 16 weeks. The microcapsules produced by freeze drying and containing high levels of pectin in wall composition had the highest antioxidant activity when kept in relative humidity of 11% and temperature of 4 degrees C.