Calcium Carbonate-based Microencapsulation Suppresses Thermal Oxidative Degradation and Enhances the Cellular...

Resveratrol is a bioactive polyphenol with well-established antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties; however, its practical application is severely limited by poor aqueous solubility and rapid degradation under thermal and oxidative conditions. In this study, we developed a calcium carbonate (CaCO₃)-based microencapsulation system (Resvera-CC) to enhance the stability of resveratrol through mineral confinement. The formulation enables efficient loading of resveratrol within CaCO₃ microparticles, forming an inorganic-organic hybrid microcarrier system. Physicochemical characterization demonstrated that encapsulation effectively suppresses thermally accelerated oxidative degradation of resveratrol, as evidenced by significantly improved retention under elevated temperature (45℃) conditions. This stabilization is attributed to protective confinement within the mineral matrix and interfacial interactions, including electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bonding, and Ca²⁺ coordination. In vitro evaluation using human keratinocytes revealed that Resvera-CC exhibits enhanced biological activity compared to dose-matched free resveratrol, as indicated by increased filaggrin (FLG) expression while exhibiting excellent cytocompatibility. The enhanced biological response is associated with improved preservation of molecular integrity following encapsulation. From a practical perspective, the aqueous precipitation process enables controllable particle formation and scalable production. Collectively, these results demonstrate that CaCO₃-based microencapsulation provides an effective strategy to suppress oxidative degradation and preserve the functional performance of labile bioactive compounds, supporting its potential application in functional ingredient stabilization and formulation technologies.