Reuse of Solid Waste from Juice Industry (Citrus sinensis peel) in the Extraction of Antioxidants with Enhanced Activity through Polymer Encapsulates for the Preservation of Skin

Abstract

Bio resources are finding increasing applications in our day-to-day activities. Current research on the active ingredients of plant/fruit extracts has several applications. To widen their applications in various fields, suitable biocompatible carriers are needed which would increase the shelf life of the extracts. In this work, one such biocompatible carrier for encapsulation has been developed using PEG-Sodium alginate as a complex which will act as a model for any natural product extract viz., Citrus sinensis peel. The extract has been studied for its radical and nitrite scavenging activity, inhibition of â-carotene bleaching and lipid peroxidation assay, before and after encapsulation in order to quantify the antioxidant activity in presence of the carrier. From the experimental results, better encapsulation of the antioxidant have been observed with increasing molecular weight of PEG, up to 8000 Da which led to an increased shelf life and sustained release. Antioxidant-PEG-8000-SA, 20:2:1 (APS-8000) mixture has been optimized and used for preservation of goatskin. The dehydration, rehydration and hydroxyproline assays reveal that, APS-8000 would be better alternative for the conventional sodium chloride preservation.