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

- Chia seed oil nanoparticles (CSO-NP) using chia seed mucilage were synthesized.
- CSO-NP were physically stable at storage accelerated conditions for 28 days.
- Nanoparticles were successful in protecting chia seed oil (CSO) against oxidation.
- Chia seed mucilage has potential to be used as wall material to nanoencapsulation.

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 28 days of storage at accelerated conditions (40 °C). The CSO-NP showed spherical shape, an average size of 205 ± 4.24 nm and zeta potential of −11.58 ± 1.87 mV. 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.