Nanoencapsulamiento de antioxidantes de Morinda citrifolia (Noni) mediante co-precipitación supercrítica

Abstract

Abstract: The degradation of bioactive compounds during processing remains a limiting factor for the industrial valorization of by-products. This research develops a W₁/O/W₂ double-emulsion microencapsulation system to protect an antioxidant extract from *Morinda citrifolia* L. (noni) pulp, obtained via ultrasound-assisted extraction. The extract exhibited a total phenolic content of 910.00 ± 3.25 µg GAE·mL⁻¹, as well as antioxidant activity values ​​of 139.30 ± 0.06 µg TE·mg⁻¹ (ABTS), 164.94 ± 0.06 µg TE·mg⁻¹ (DPPH), and 72.26 ± 0.10 µg TE·mg⁻¹ (FRAP). HPLC characterization identified quercetin (24.46 ± 0.23 µg·mL⁻¹) and caffeic acid (30.85 ± 0.01 µg·mL⁻¹) as the major compounds, alongside rutin, epicatechin, and gallic acid. Through a 14-experiment design, W₁/O/W₂ systems were formulated using β-cyclodextrin as the internal encapsulating agent and chitosan as the external phase; six systems were selected based on visual stability, showing homogeneity maintained for at least 24 hours. A notable limitation was that the freeze-drying equipment failed to achieve complete drying of the emulsions after 96 hours, thereby restricting the final structural evaluation of the microcapsules.