Matrix Effect on the Spray Drying Nanoencapsulation of Lippia sidoides Essential Oil in Chitosan-Native Gum Blends

Essential oils have many applications in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and food fields, however, their use is limited to the fact that they are very labile, requiring their a priori encapsulation, aiming to preserve their properties. This work reports on the preparation of chitosan-gum nanoparticles loaded with thymol containing Lippia sidoides essential oil, using exudates of Anacardium Occidentale (cashew gum), Sterculia striata (chichá gum), and Anadenanthera macrocarpa trees (angico gum). Nanoparticles were produced by spray drying an emulsion of L. sidoides essential oil and aqueous solution of gums with different chitosan : gum ratios. Samples were characterized by FTIR and UV/VIS spectroscopy, particle size, volume distribution, and zeta potential. The FTIR spectrum showed the main signals of chitosan and the gums. Data obtained revealed that the samples had sizes in the nano range, varying from 17 nm to 800 nm. The zeta potential varied from + 30 mV to − 40 mV. Nanoparticle loading values varied from 6.7 % to 15.6 %, with an average encapsulating efficiency of 62 %, where the samples with high ratios of cashew gum and chichá gum presented high oil loading values. The data revealed that both the chitosan : gum ratio and polysaccharide characteristics play major roles in nanoencapsulation processes.