Chemical characterization of alginate-encapsulated plant extracts

Abstract

In this study, hydroethanolic extracts of three species of plants: basil (Ocimum basilicum), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and summer savory (Satureja hortensis) were encapsulated in sodium alginate using the drop technique. Afterwards the microcapsules were dried by lyophilization. In order to characterize the microcapsules, the following parameters were determined: solubility, swelling index, encapsulation yield and efficiency, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).