Development of flaxseed and garlic oil hydrogel beads by novel ionotropic gelation method

Flaxseed and garlic oils are rich in bioactive compounds and are reported to be vulnerable to environmental conditions, such as oxygen and light. Therefore, we encapsulated flaxseed (FL) oil, garlic oil (GO) and a combination of both (FL + GO) as emulsions in alginate hydrogel beads using the ionotropic gelation method. The encapsulation efficiencies of FL oil, GO, and FL + GO hybrid hydrogel beads were found to be 85%, 69%, and 92%, respectively. FTIR analysis showed no interaction among the functional groups of samples used. Data further revealed that FL oil was more sensitive to oxidation than FL oil hybrid hydrogel beads. Cumulative release of FL oil, GO, and FL + GO hybrid hydrogel beads was 43.60%, 61.36%, and 29.92%, respectively after 8 hr in simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Therefore, the study shows that the hybrid hydrogel beads can act as a robust delivery vehicle to enhance the oxidative stability in foods. Practical applications: Emulsions of flaxseedoil (FL), garlic oil (GL), and FL+GO were incorporated calcium alginate to form hybrid hydrogel beads. Moreover, the characteristics of hydrogel beads were studied. Hydrogel beads showed good encapsulation efficiency without interaction among the functional groups. Moreover, cumulative release of FL oil, GO, and FL + GO hybrid hydrogel beads highlighted the release behavior in simulated gastrointestinal fluid conditions. Therefore, the ionotropic gelation method provided an alternative to spray drying method to develop encapsulated FL oil and GO.