Caracterização físico-química da microcápsula do pigmento natural R-Ficoeritrina da macroalga marinha vermelha Solieria filiformis

Abstract

The red marine macroalgae biosynthesize a phycobiliprotein called R-phycoerythrin, a red accessory photosynthetic pigment, whose biotechnological and industrial application is very promising. However, this molecule has spectroscopic, chemical and biological instability, and encapsulation techniques, in turn, appear as an alternative to increase the stability of the molecule, but give microcapsules different physical and chemical properties, resulting from the wall material used. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the physical-chemical characteristics of the pure R-Ficoeritrina microcapsule, extracted from Solieria filiformis, obtained by the freeze-drying method and using iota-carrageenan as an encapsulating agent. The extraction and purification of R-Ficoeritrina were carried out at the Algae and Bioprocess Biotechnology Laboratory, as well as the pigment encapsulation. The microcapsules were evaluated for water activity, solubility, hygroscopicity, humidity and colorimetry, in treatments varying the concentration of the wall material (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0%), in presence or not of R-Phycoerythrin. The results obtained demonstrated that the concentration of iota-carrageenan used in the encapsulation interfered in the moisture content of the microparticles. The moisture content and water activity (3.63 ± 0.36 to 11.43 ± 2.25) and (0.14 ± 0.003 to 0.35 ± 0.001), respectively. The hygroscopic profile ranged from 10.57 ± 0.63 to 11.94 ± 0.67. The solubility index varied between 63.63% - 80.47%. The colorimetric tests, in turn, signaled the presence of the red color, with the intensity varying according to the concentration of wall material used to obtain the microparticle. In view of the results, the R-Ficoeritrina microcapsules showed promising physical-chemical characteristics for application of the pigment in different areas of biotechnology and industry.