Abstract:
The efficacy of the drug encapsulated in the polymeric matrix is closely related to the kinetics of drug release fromthe matrix, therefore the study about the kinetic release of a drug from a certain matrix is essential to be carried out.This study aims to evaluate the release of β-carotene from the starch-chitosan crosslinked by tripolyphosphate matrices(starch-chitosan/TPP) in the in vitro digestive media (artificial intestinal fluid (AIF) and artificial gastric fluid (AGF))as well as in ethanol, and to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the released β-carotene. The effect of starch types, i.e.native and acid hydrolyzed starch, on both parameters was investigated. The results show that the β-carotene releasein AIF is slower than that in AGF. In each applied medium, the release rate of β-carotene from hydrolyzed starchchitosan/TPP matrices is slower than from native starch-chitosan/TPP matrices. The release kinetics of β-carotene inabsolute ethanol medium follows the Korsmeyer-Peppas model with an exponent of release (n) value for encapsulationproducts using the native starch-chitosan/TPP matrix and using the hydrolyzed starch-chitosan/TPP matrix are 0.14and 0.16, respectively. This value indicates that the mechanism of β-carotene release in both matrices follows thequasi-fickian diffusion. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of β-carotene released from the matrices does notdecrease significantly after encapsulation, indicating the effectiveness of the matrices in protecting the activity β-carotene.
