Apigenin is an antioxidant that has shown a preventive activity against different cancer and cardiovascular disorders. In this study, we encapsulate apigenin with liposome to tackle the issue of its poor bioavailability and low stability. Apigenin loaded liposomes are fabricated with food-grade rapeseed lecithin in an aqueous medium in absence of any organic solvent. The liposome particle characteristics, such as particle size and polydispersity are optimised by tuning ultrasonic processing parameters. In addition, to measure the liposome encapsulation efficiency accurately, we establish a unique high-performance liquid chromatography technique in which an alkaline buffer mobile phase is used to prevent apigenin precipitation in the column;. salt is added to separate lipid particles from the aqeuous phase. Our results demonstrate that apigenin encapsulation efficiency is nearly 98% that is remarkably higher than any other reported value for encapsulation of this compound. In addition, the average particle size of these liposomes is 158.9 ± 6.1 nm that is suitable for the formulation of many food products, such as fortified fruit juice. The encapsulation method developed in this study, therefore have a high potential for the production of innovative, functional foods or nutraceutical products.
Keywords: Antioxidant; Apigenin; Encapsulation efficiency; Flavone; Liposomes; Polyphenol; Rapeseed lecithin; Sonication.
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