Physicochemical Characteristics of Encapsulated Black Pepper (Piper nigrum L.) Extract: Comparison of Maltodextrin and Gum Arabic Concentrations as Coating Materials

Abstract

Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) contains piperine, its main alkaloid compound. However, piperine has low bioavailability due to its poor solubility in water. To address this issue, encapsulation is used. The objective of this study is to produce a water-soluble and stable black pepper extract encapsulated powder. The study encapsulated piperine using three concentrations of maltodextrin and gum arabic ratio as coating materials, namely MG1 (75:25), MG2 (25:75) and MG3 (0:100). The mixture was then combined with 30 % piperine extract using an ultrasonic processor and dried for 6 hours at 60°C in a vacuum dryer. The study results indicate that the concentration of maltodextrin and gum arabic MG1 positively affected the physicochemical characteristics of black pepper extract encapsulation. The MG1 exhibited a solubility level of 86.26 % in water, an encapsulation efficiency value of 78 % and a piperine content was stable at value of 7.08 - 7.49 % during storage.