Potential effects of alginate–pectin biocomposite on the release of folic acid and their physicochemical characteristics

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Abstract
Potential effects of folates on the treatment of several human diseases like cognitive function, neural tube defects, coronary heart disease and certain kinds of cancers have been discovered. However, the stability of folic acid against adverse conditions is a great concern. The present study investigates various alginate (A)–pectin (P) gastrointestinal-resistant hydrogel to immobilize folic acid. This involves evaluating different compositions of alginate–pectin to achieve higher encapsulation efficiency and stability during simulated gastric (SG) and simulated intestinal (SI) conditions. Coated alginate hydrogels with pectin resulted significant (p < 0.05) better protection of folic acid compared to non-coated alginate hydrogel when exposed to SG condition and when exposed to SI condition, sustained release behavior obtained with the ratio of A70–P30. The structural and physicochemical properties of blended A–P hydrogel were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometer, indicating the presence of folic acid into the matrix and signified no covalent reaction between components. Therefore, this adequate composition of alginate–pectin showed to be a potential carrier for folic acid stability.

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