Nanoencapsulation of chia seed oil with chia mucilage (Salvia hispanica L.) as wall material: Characterization and stability evaluation.

In this study, chia seed oil was nanoencapsulated utilizing chia seed mucilage (CSM) as wall material. The viscosity, encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity, transmission electron microscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy and thermal properties of chia seed oil nanoparticles (CSO-NP) were performed after preparation. Particle size, zeta potential, span value, and pH of CSO-NP and oxidation stability of nanoencapsulated and unencapsulated oil were evaluated during 28days of storage at accelerated conditions (40°C). The CSO-NP showed spherical shape, an average size of 205±4.24nm and zeta potential of -11.58±1.87mV. The encapsulation efficiency (82.8%), loading capacity (35.38%) and FT-IR spectroscopy demonstrated the interaction between oil and mucilage. Furthermore, CSO-NP were thermally stable at temperatures up 300°C and nanoencapsulated oil showed higher stability against oxidation than unencapsulated oil. The results suggest that chia seed mucilage represents a promising alternative to substitute synthetic polymers in nanoencapsulation.