Electrospraying of zein for the preparation of micro/nano-particles loaded with sarcopoterium spinosum extract

Natural compounds that are isolated from various plant species have been the focus of folk medicine due to their bioactivities. Pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries also utilize these natural compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Harsh processing and storage conditions causing loss of their bioactivities limit their applications. Therefore, biopolymeric carrier systems are required to preserve the natural bioactive compounds stability. Sarcopoterium spinosum is used in folkloric medicine for curing diabetes, gastrointestinal illnesses, cancer and pain. In this study, both solution and process parameters for electrospraying technique were investigated to encapsulate S. spinosum extract including natural bioactive compounds in zein particles. The best results were observed in 5% (w/v) of zein concentration in 70% aqueous ethanol. 0.3 ml/hour flow rate and 14 kV applied voltage were used in order to obtain narrow size distributionorbicular and smooth particle structure. The best mixture of S. spinosum extract and zein was achieved at weight ratio of 1:5. The zein microparticles with extract showed remarkable antioxidant activity.