Encapsulation of curcumin using supercritical antisolvent (SAS) technology to improve its stability and solubility in water

Abstract This study aims to develop a formulation of a turmeric-based dye extract using supercritical antisolvent (SAS) technology and different encapsulating polymers to improve the aqueous stability and solubility of curcumin. The dye formulation obtained by SAS consists of a mixture of Eudragit® L100 and Pluronic® 127 using tween 20 as a surfactant The characterization and quantification of curcumin extracts and the encapsulation product were conducted using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The properties of the dye were determined using SEM, DSC, X-ray diffraction, particle size, zeta potential, and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) to measure antioxidant capacity. The dye formulation contained a curcumin content of 4.45 µg/mL. The average diameter of the amorphous particles was 5667.4 nm, and the zeta potential was 11.21 mV. The largest aqueous stability and solubility was observed at pH 4. From color comparison with a solution of tartrazine 200 µg/mL solution of dye formulation based on curcuminoids is equivalent to an approximated 30 µg/mL tartrazine solution.