Development of cress seed gum hydrogel and investigation of its potential application in the delivery of curcumin.

BACKGROUND: Bioactive compound delivery systems must provide stability against severe food processing and environmental conditions. Cress seed gum (CSG) with high thermal stability can be a promising polysaccharide for preparing physically cross-linked hydrogel as a curcumin delivery system. In the present study, CSG (0.05, 0.10 and 0.15 g kg-1 ) and calcium chloride (CaCl2 ) (0.00, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06 and 0.10 g kg-1 ) solutions were used for hydrogel fabrication. RESULTS: Physicochemical properties of hydrogels were evaluated by entrapment efficiency, loading capacity and swelling degree, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, in vitro release and free radical scavenging capacity assessments. Accordingly, 0.15 g kg-1 CSG-0.02 g kg-1 CaCl2 hydrogel was revealed to have high entrapment efficiency (93.6 ± 1.59%), loading capacity (0.92 ± 0.00%) and swelling degree (105.96 ± 12.99%), as well as heat stability above 103 °C. CSG hydrogel significantly (P < 0.05) protected the antioxidant activity of curcumin against thermal process. The curcumin release in the acidic stomach medium was negligible, although it increased significantly in the simulated intestinal environment (42.5 ± 0.75%), which followed the Peppas model. CONCLUSION: As a result, CSG hydrogel can protect curcumin during food thermal processing and digestion time. Therefore, CSG hydrogel can play a valued role in modern-day food formulations with an increasing consumer preference for plant-derived materials. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.