Enzymatic Inhibition of Α-Amylase and Encapsulation of Bioactive Compounds by Nanoemulsion from Pulp Extract Terminalia Catappa Linn Fruit

Bioactive compounds are antioxidants of great importance for the cosmetics and food industries. These antioxidants can inhibit enzymes or reduce oxidative reactions of free radicals, which may reflect in disease prevention. The extracts of Terminalia catappa fruit showed high concentrations of phenolic compounds (2.98 ± 0.38 mg/mL), which are considered a good source of antioxidants. The aqueous extract of T. catappa fruit proved to be efficient to deactivate α-amylase and complete inhibition of the enzyme was observed using an extract dosage of 0.8 mg/mL. The encapsulation of the extract of T. catappa fruit was performed by phase inversion using Crodamol OQ-LQ/distilled water/Tween 80 formulations. All formulations formed nanoemulsions, which showed good stability under centrifugal force stress and nanoemulsion droplets still had an average size of less than 69 nm. Although the average size of droplets was less than 200 nm, the characteristics of the nanoemulsions degenerated after 26 days, especially under temperatures of 25 and 35 °C. Therefore, the present study could expand the possibilities of the application of bioactive from T. catappa fruit for pharmaceutical purposes or cosmetic ones.