Encapsulation of Ganoderma lucidum with Alginate and Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose polymers: Investigation of antioxidant and antimicrobial activity

Abstract

Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum) is a mushroom that stands out as a functional food and is widely used in eastern folk medicine. Nowadays, microparticulate systems are a very popular field in the food industry to protect food molecules against environmental factors. The carrier material of capsules to be used in food products or processes must be food-grade and biocompatible. Alginates (Alg) are widely used in many fields such as tissue engineering, drug delivery and food science due to their excellent properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, and gelation. Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) is a biodegradable, FDA approved cellulose derived biopolymer. In this study; G. lucidum was extracted in water by maceration and the obtained extracts were encapsulated with Alg and HPMC polymers. The swelling of microspheres containing G. lucidum extracts in pH1.2, pH6.8, pH7.4 and pure water were investigated. It was observed that the highest amount of swelling in microspheres was observed in the formulation where the amount of HPMC was higher (Alg/HPMC=1/2). Total phenolic content, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of microspheres and extracts were analyzed by FolinCiocalteu method, 2,2-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method and Well Diffusion Method, respectively. The antioxidant capacity of G. lucidum encapsulated microspheres was approximately 55%. The total phenolic contents of the extract and extract-containing microsphere formulation were found to be 15.8±3.18 and 25.4±0.7 mg GAE/g-extract, respectively. It is thought that microspheres containing G. lucidum extract prepared in this study may be potentially useful in functional food applications.