Biopolymer (chitosan) encapsulation of natural antioxidants extracted from caffeoyl derivative containing medicinal and aromatic plants: (Artemisia pallens, Ocimum tenuiflorum)

The use of chitosan (CS) is use for the encapsulation of active components has gained interest in the last years due to its mucous adhesiveness, non-toxicity, biocompatibility and biodegradability. The benefits of encapsulating active agents in such polymer matrix include their protection from the surrounding medium or processing conditions and their controlled release. In this present study Chitosan was employed for the encapsulation of caffeoyl derivatives and medicinal plants (Artemisia pallens (Tulsi), Ocimum tenuiflorum or  Ocimum  sanctum (Marikolunthu ).Encapsulation has been done with the help of ionic gelation method.  Chitosan and TPP- (Tripolyphosphate pentasodium) were mainly involved. The active components were added to the TPP solution and this was added dropwise to the chitosan solution with continuous stirring and also in this case, to investigate the anti-oxidant activity of the methonolic extract of caffeoyl derivative and medicinal plants.Anti-oxidant activity of methonolic extract was determined by DPPH -(1, 1-diphenyl 1-2 picryl hydrazyl)  free radical scavenging activity. Then the effect of encapsulating systems on the active ompound stability and its release properties was analysed.