Microencapsulation of Rosemary Essential Oil by Co-Extrusion/Gelling Using Alginate as a Wall Material

摘要

An essential oil is the volatile lipophilic component extracted from plants. Microencapsulation systems protect the essential oil from degradation and evaporation, and at the same time allow a sustained release. This work analyzed and characterized the rosemary essential oil microcapsules prepared by co-extrusion technique using alginate as wall material and calcium chloride as cross linker. Several instrumental techniques were used: optical microscopy, coulter counter, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), termogravimetric analysis (TGA), spectrophotometry, antimicrobial test and chromatography. Results show that rosemary oil has pesticidal properties, and its microencapsulation allows knowing that these properties remain inside the microcapsules.