Microencapsulation of Laurus nobilis L. Leaf Extract in Alginate-Based System via Electrostatic Extrusion

Bay leaves (L. nobilis L.) are a rich source of polyphenols that hold great potential for application in functional food products in which where the main challenges are the polyphenols' low stability and bioaccessibility, which can be overcome through different microencapsulation techniques, such as electrostatic extrusion, which hasn't been applied for the encapsulation of bay leaf polyphenols (BLP) to date. Therefore, the main goal of this research was to evaluate the potential of this technique through monitoring the polyphenolic content, antioxidant activity, release kinetics, and bioaccessibility of the encapsulated BLP. The results showed that electrostatic extrusion was suitable for the encapsulation of BLP, where 1% alginate and 1.5% CaCl₂ with 0.5% chitosan resulted in the highest encapsulation efficiency (92.76%) and antioxidant activity in vitro. The use of 1.5% or 2% alginate with 5% CaCl₂ + 0.5% chitosan showed the most controlled release of polyphenols, while encapsulation generally increased the bioaccessibility of BLP. The results showed that electrostatic extrusion can be considered an efficient technique for the microencapsulation of BLP.