Francisco RodrÃguez Félix
research professor ,University of Sonora
Title: Physical-Chemical study of betalains nanoencapsulation in a glutenin matrix by electrospray
Biography
Biography: Francisco RodrÃguez Félix
Abstract
The pitaya (Stenocereus thurberi) is a fruit from the Northwest of Mexico and its use is for human feed, mainly. This fruit has a high content of betalains, which are natural pigments with a strong antioxidant and antibacterial capacity. Betalains can be extract from the pitaya pulp, however, the pigments are unstable to environmental factors such as light, oxygen, temperature, pH, and water. Which leads to the degradation pigments and lose of the antioxidant and antibacterial capacity. A potential solution to this problem is nanoencapsulation, using biopolymers that are friendly to the environment and human beings, such as cereal proteins. The development of micro and nano-particles based on cereal proteins has been of interest for researchers due to their applications in foods, medicine, agriculture, etc. Among the most promising proteins is wheat gluten, composed mainly of gliadins and glutenins; of which, glutenins have a higher molecular weight. Currently one of the promising techniques for particle development is the electrospray technique due to its advantages over other techniques. In this investigation, the electrospray coaxial technique, has been studied to be a suitable technique to protect the betalains into a glutenin matrix with the purpose of maintain the pigments stability.