Comparison Study between Cherry and Arabic Gums in Preparation and Characterization of Orange Peel Extract Nanocapsules

This study was aimed at determining the potential use of cherry gum (CG) and chitosan (CS) as wall materials, to encapsulate an orange peel extract (PE) via the ionic gelation method and compare its efficiency with that of Arabic gum (AG). Different ratios of chitosan to gum (1 : 1, 1 : 2, and 1 : 3, v/v) and CS to PE (1 : 0.5, 1 : 1, and 1 : 1.5, v/v) were studied to evaluate the nanocapsule properties. The results showed that the capsules entrapping the PE were successfully created with an encapsulation efficiency (EE %) of more than 80% via the ionic gelation method. The ratio of chitosan : gums and CS : PE was affecting both the encapsulation efficiency and capsule size. The capsules' spherical shape and nanometer size were confirmed using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). The relative ratios 1 : 1 of CS : CG and 1 : 0.5 of CS : PE gave the highest EE% (89.27%) with an average capsule size of 70 nm, whereas the maximum EE% with AG was 97.39% with a mean size of 50 nm at the CS : PE ratio of 1 : 0.5 and AG : CS ratio of 1 : 2. The release profile of PE from the CS-CG matrix during 240 min under acidic and alkaline conditions was about 94.45% and 98.53%, respectively, and that from the CS-AG matrix was about 25.54% and 19.49%, respectively. The FTIR spectra confirmed the electrostatic interactions between the protonated amino group of chitosan (-NH3(+)) and carboxylic ions (-COO-) of the gums. These findings indicated that the CS-CG could be used as an efficient and ecofriendly coating material for nanoencapsulation of PE.