The Effect of Oil Components and Homogenization Conditions on the Physicochemical Properties of Zedoary Turmeric Oil Submicron Emulsions

Zedoary turmeric oil submicron emulsions were studied. The effects of the oil phase as a mixture (ternary) on the emulsion droplet size were investigated by means of the simplex lattice design. By optimizing the homogenization process and using only 1.2% soya lecithin, emulsions with 20% oil phase consisting of zedoary turmeric oil–MCT–soybean oil ratio of 0.5:0.25:0.25 with particle sizes in the range of 132–148 nm and moderate viscosity (3.6–4.0 mPa · s) could be prepared. These emulsions showed good stability over 6 months. This study showed the dominating influence of composition of the oil phase as well as the importance of the homogenizing conditions on processing and stability of the zedoary turmeric oil submicron emulsions.     

Acylglycerols of Myristic Acid as New Candidates for Effective Stigmasterol Delivery—Design,Synthesis, and the Influence on Physicochemical Properties of Liposomes

New carriers of phytosterols; acylglycerols containing natural myristic acid at sn-1 and sn-3 positions and stigmasterol residue linked to sn-2 position by carbonate and succinate linker have been designed and synthesized in three-step synthesis from dihydroxyacetone (DHA). The synthetic pathway involved Steglich esterification of DHA with myristic acid; reduction of carbonyl group of 1,3-dimyristoylpropanone and esterification of 1,3-dimyristoylglicerol with stigmasterol chloroformate or stigmasterol hemisuccinate. The structure of the obtained hybrids was established by the spectroscopic methods (NMR; IR; HRMS). Obtained hybrid molecules were used to form new liposomes in the mixture with model phospholipid and their effect on their physicochemical properties was determined, including the polarity, fluidity, and main phase transition of liposomes using differential scanning calorimetry and fluorimetric methods. The results confirm the significant effect of both stigmasterol-containing acylglycerols on the hydrophilic and hydrophobic region of liposome membranes. They significantly increase the order in the polar heads of the lipid bilayer and increase the rigidity in the hydrophobic region. Moreover, the presence of both acylglycerols in the membranes shifts the temperature of the main phase transition towards higher temperatures. Our results indicate stabilization of the bilayer over a wide temperature range (above and below the phase transition temperature), which in addition to the beneficial effects of phytosterols on human health makes them more attractive components of novel lipid nanocarriers compared to cholesterol.     

Synthesis of a Novel Chitosan/Basil Oil Blend and Development of Novel Low Density Poly Ethylene/Chitosan/Basil Oil Active Packaging Films Following a Melt-Extrusion Process for Enhancing Chicken Breast Fillets Shelf-Life

An innovative process for the adsorption of the hydrophobic Basil-Oil (BO) into the hydrophilic food byproduct chitosan (CS) and the development of an advanced low-density polyethylene/chitosan/basil-oil (LDPE/CS_BO) active packaging film was investigated in this work. The idea of this study was the use of the BO as both a bioactive agent and a compatibilizer. The CS was modified to a CS_BO hydrophobic blend via a green evaporation/adsorption process. This blend was incorporated directly in the LDPE to produce films with advanced properties. All the obtained composite films exhibited improved packaging properties. The film with 10% CS_BO content exhibited the best packaging properties, i.e., 33.0% higher tensile stress, 31.0% higher water barrier, 54.3% higher oxygen barrier, and 12.3% higher antioxidant activity values compared to the corresponding values of the LDPE films. The lipid oxidation values of chicken breast fillets which were packaged under vacuum using this film were measured after seven and after fourteen days of storage. These values were found to be lower by around 41% and 45%, respectively, compared with the corresponding lipid oxidation values of pure LDPE film.