ENCAPSULATION OF BARBERRY FRUIT EXTRACTS BY SPRAY DRYING AND LIPOSOME ENTRAPMENT

Barberry is a native Iranian plant including species Berberis integerrima and B. vulgaris. Barberry fruit is used for preparing sauces, jellies, carbonated drinks, candies, food colour powders, jams, marmalades, chocolates, juices, and nectars. They are used as a natural food colorant rich in anthocyanins instead of harmful artificial ones. They contain polyphenols and antioxidants that reduce damage from free radicals and prevent chronic diseases and cancers. Barberry fruit extracts were encapsulated in maltodextrin by spray drying and Liposome Entrapment. The sizes of spray dried particles were reported 1–20 μm by SEM. Dimensions of empty and extract loaded liposomes (B. vulgaris and B. integerrima) were 18–28, 37–51, and 51–77 nm, respectively, by FE-SEM. The moist diameter of liposomes measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS) method at day 0 and after 6 months at –18 °C were as follows; empty liposomes: 163.9±2.23 and 378.90±4.98, liposomes loaded with extracts: 135.2±2.04 and 160.90±2.19 (B. vulgaris) and 113.4±1.83 and 144.20±2.01 nm (B. integerrima). Evaluation of thermal-oxidative decomposition from Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results at 0–45–90 days showed that the antioxidant activity and the onset temperature of the encapsulated extract was higher than the control. The extracts encapsulated in liposomes, especially B. integerrima extract, had better antioxidant properties.