Encapsulation of Lycopene by Using Basil Seed Gum/Polyvinyl Alcohol Nanofibers

In this study, nanofibers of basil seed gum (BSG) were prepared by electrospinning method. To reduce repelling interaction and helping the process of electrospinning, aiding agents such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) can be used. PVA (10% w/v) and BSG (1% w/v) with different volume ratios of 10:90, 20:80, 30:70, 40:60, 50:50, 60:40, 70:30, 80:20 and 90:10 were prepared. According to the SEM images, it was found that a volume ratio of 70:30 from PVA/BSG solution produced the best nanofibers to trap lycopene. The Encapsulation efficiency was in the range of 80.04-91.67%. The effect of lycopene concentration (0.4, 0.6 and 0.8% w/w) on the encapsulation efficiency was investigated. The results showed that the effect of lycopene concentration on encapsulation efficiency was statistically significant (P<0.05). The physical and chemical properties of the BSG/PVA nanofiber containing lycopene were studied with DSC test. The results of the DSC test showed that lycopene lost its crystalline structure and was present in the nanofiber mainly in amorphous form and produced a homogeneous composition. The FTIR analysis showed that there was only physical interaction between the components and no chemical interaction occurred. Generally, the results showed that the system used (BSG/PVA nanofiber) has a high potential for utilization as an appropriate delivery system for increasing bioaccessibility in bioactive compounds.