Abstract

Phycobiliprotein is a kind of bioactive material that is widely used in the fields of food and medicine. However, the usage of phycobiliprotein is limited by its instability. In this study, we firstly developed a kind of phycobiliprotein microcapsulate by chitosan-sodiumalginate encapsulation method. The preparation conditions, stability and controlled release of phycobiliprotein microcapsule were studied and discussed. The results showed that the optimal conditions for preparing the microcapsulates were 3% sodium alginate, 3% CaCl2 and 0.5% chitosan. After encapsulation, the stabilities of phycobiliprotein to heat, acidity and radiation were greatly improved. Phycobiliprotein in microcapsulate was 5-10 times more endurable than in water solution when heated and 7 times when radiated. Stability under acidity was also improved greatly. It was also found that phycobiliprotein microcapsulate had good stability in the mimic gastric juice and had 90% release rate in the mimic intestinal juice. This suggests that phycobiliprotein microcapsulate can have controlled release and dissolution in intestine.

Keywords:

Controlled release, microcapsule, phycobiliprotein, stability,

References

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

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Copyright

The authors have no competing interests.