Abstract

BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND IN VITRO RELEASE STUDY OF ALGINATE MICROPARTICLES PREPARED WITH INDIAN ROSE (ROSA GRANDIFLORA) FLOWER PIGMENTS

Aditi Banerjee and Dr. Sauryya Bhattacharyya*

.

Abstract

The economic implications of polyphenolic compounds are vast. Since consumers‟ interests are shifting towards healthy and minimally processed foods, synthetic antioxidants are slowly losing ground in their application in commercial products, although they are much stable and can withstand circumstantial onslaughts. Polyphenols in the form of natural antioxidants thus gained immense importance as commercial means. They are used in various sectors of the foodprocessing industry as natural colouring agents, preservative agents, natural antioxidants or nutritional enhancers.[1] However, it is probably in the field of human health that the commercial application of polyphenols is the most important.[2] Actually, many plant extracts rich in phenolic compounds of interest are used not only as food complements, they can be integrated into cosmetic or pharmaceutical formulations also. Unfortunately, the use of these important compounds are substantially limited for human application. Although these compounds showed excellent activities in in vitro models, their efficacies reduced when applied in vivo.[3] Moreover, route of administration plays a crucial role in their bioavailability and integrity in experimental models. Orally administered polyphenols may have insufficient gastric residence time, low permeability and/or low solubility due to their different behaviour towards different conditions like pH, enzymes or presence of other nutrients that may limit the activity and their potential health benefits. Furthermore, many polyphenols in their free form may show limited to no water solubility, susceptibility to environmental oxidation, or they might have disagreeable tastes, which must be concealed before their integration in foodstuffs or oral medicines.

Keywords: .