Curcumin is one of the major constituents of turmeric which possess multifarious therapeutic properties. However, owing of its limited solubility in water its bioavailability is poor. Thus, attempts have been made to increase the solubility of curcumin by fermenting turmeric followed by extraction and encapsulation. Lactobacillus fermentum was used for the fermentation of raw turmeric pulp. The influence of Lactobacillus fermentation and different extraction methods (conventional solvent extraction (CSE), ultrasound (UAE) and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE)) on total phenolic content (TPC), flavonoid content, antioxidant activity and curcumin content were analyzed. Further, to increase the stability of extract, different concentrations of maltodextrin were used to microencapsulate the curcumin extract. The results showed that, Lactobacillus fermentation increased the TPC and antioxidant activity from 5.59 ± 0.20 to 6.27 ± 0.28 mg GAE/g and 67.49 ± 1.51 to 79.00 ± 2.20%, respectively. MAE showed highest TPC (7.88 ± 0.08 mg GAE/g), antioxidant activity (94 ± 1.57%) and curcumin content (0.866 ± 0.05 mg/g) followed by UAE and CSE. Maximum yield of curcumin extract was observed in MAE, UAE and CSE as 59.93, 47.09 and 29.44% respectively, higher than non-fermented turmeric pulp. Maltodextrin percentage showed a significant influence on bio-functional properties of encapsulated powder. However, 20% maltodextrin exhibited better bio-functional properties as compared to other concentrations.
Keywords: Conventional solvent extraction; encapsulation; lacto-fermentation; microwave assisted extraction; turmeric; ultrasound assisted extraction.