NANOENCAPSULATION OF FOLIC ACID THROUGH ELECTROSPRAYING AND ITS FORTIFICATION IN YOGHURT

M.N. HINGU¹, V.M. RAMANI²*
¹Department of Dairy Microbiology, College of Dairy Science, Amreli, 365601, Kamdhenu University, Gandhinagar, 382010, India
²Department of Dairy Microbiology, College of Dairy Science, Amreli, 365601, Kamdhenu University, Gandhinagar, 382010, India
* Corresponding Author : vimalmramani@gmail.com

Received : 04-07-2023     Accepted : 27-08-2023     Published : 30-08-2023
Volume : 15     Issue : 3       Pages : 2019 - 2024
Int J Microbiol Res 15.3 (2023):2019-2024

Keywords : Folic acid, Electrospraying, Nanoencapsulation, Whey protein concentrate, Bioavailability
Academic Editor : Dr Gayathry Gunavijayan, Rejeesh R, Kumar D Shiva
Conflict of Interest : None declared
Acknowledgements/Funding : Authors are thankful to Department of Dairy Microbiology, College of Dairy Science, Amreli, 365601, Kamdhenu University, Gandhinagar, 382010, India
Author Contribution : All authors equally contributed

Folic acid is an essential component required for body functions and it’s deficiency may lead to various disorders and diseases. Humans and animals, cannot synthesize folate and therefore it must be obtained through their diet from various vegetables and fruits. Naturally occurring folates lose more than half of its bioactivity due to harvesting and subsequent processing. Synthetic folic acid is degraded upon exposure to heat, UV, and sunlight resulting in lowering its bioavailability. Folic acid is a water soluble, so it is not stored in the body so the, leftover amounts of folate will leave the body Fortification of encapsulated folic acid can increase the bioavailability as it will reach intact in intestine. Nanoencapsulation protects the bioactive compound from adverse environmental conditions as well as nanoencapsulation improves the bioavailability, stability and controlled release at targeted site. So, in the present study, the nanoencapsulation of folic acid was carried out using the electrospraying for its fortification in yoghurt. This nanoencapsulated folic acid was fortified in the yoghurt and showed higher growth of yoghurt culture as compared to control yoghurt. The growth of L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus was 7.11 log cfu/g and 7.35 log cfu/g in nanoencapsulated folic acid fortified yoghurt, respectively and in case of control yoghurt there was a lower growth of L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus i.e., 6.99 log cfu/g and 7.25 log cfu/g, respectively. As well as the net folic acid content was also found very high in nanoencapsulated folic acid fortified yoghurt as compared to control yoghurt. After 15 days of storage, the concentration of folic acid was 158.87 µg in the nanoencapsulated folic acid fortified yoghurt, whereas very low concentration of folic acid was found in control yoghurt i.e., 19.32 µg