Isolation of fucoxanthin from Sargassum thunbergii and preparation of microcapsules based on palm stearin solid lipid core

The objective of this study was to isolate fucoxanthin from Sargassum thunbergii and develop microcapsules with palm stearin as the solid lipid core for stability and efficient oral delivery of fucoxanthin. The microcapsules had smooth surfaces with the volume weighted mean diameter ( d 4.3 ) of 19.19 μm. Encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity of microcapsules with fucoxanthin were 98.3% and 0.04%, respectively. Moreover, the fucoxanthin in microcapsules presented higher stability than free fucoxanthin against light, humidity and temperature. Especially, the retention rates of fucoxanthin encapsulated in microcapsules reached 97.20% at 4°C, 92.60% at 25°C, 92.32% with the relative humidity of 33% and 92.60% in the dark. The cumulative amount of fucoxanthin released from microcapsules was 22.92% in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and 56.55% in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF).