Production of Ca-alginate microbeads and uniform core-shell microcapsules containing the carotenoid lutein

Lutein is a naturally and commonly occurring carotenoid found in plants. It is red-orange colored and has antioxidant properties, hence, it is oxygen sensitive. Furthermore, it is basically insoluble in water.
The aim of this study was to protect the antioxidant from oxidation, by making it dispersible in water. Therefore, lutein microbeads and microcapsules were produced using the Flow Vibration Nozzle and Concentric Nozzle systems on the Encapsulator B-390 and B-395 Pro. Microbeads are spherical, homogeneous beads while microcapsules consist of a core and shell of different composition. The here produced microbeads and microcapsules show uniform and spherical morphology.