Utilization of Emulsion Inversion to Fabricate Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) Flower Extract Obtained by Supercritical Fluid Extraction-Loaded Nanoemulsions

Nara Yaowiwat; Worrapan Poomanee; Pimporn Leelapornpisid; Phanuphong Chaiwut

doi:10.1021/acsomega.3c00602

Utilization of Emulsion Inversion to Fabricate Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) Flower Extract Obtained by Supercritical Fluid Extraction-Loaded Nanoemulsions

ACS Omega. 2023 Jul 26;8(31):28090-28097. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c00602. eCollection 2023 Aug 8.

Authors

Nara Yaowiwat^{1

2}, Worrapan Poomanee³, Pimporn Leelapornpisid³, Phanuphong Chaiwut^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Cosmetic Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand.
² Green Cosmetic Technology Research Group, School of Cosmetic Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand.
³ Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.

Abstract

This study aimed to obtain tea flower extract (TFE) using supercritical fluid extraction, to determine the compounds present in the TFE and to establish its antioxidant activity. The fabrication of TFE nanoemulsions was also investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). UHPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS and UHPLC-ESI-QqQ-MS/MS analysis showed that the TFE was composed of catechin and its derivatives, flavonols and anthocyanins, suggesting its potential as a free radical scavenger with strong reducing powers. A central composite design was applied to optimize the independent factors of the nanoemulsions. The factors had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on all response variables. The optimum level of factors for the fabrication was a surfactant-to-oil ratio of 2:1, a high hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) surfactant to low HLB surfactant ratio (HLR) of 1.6:1, and a PEG-40/PEG-60 hydrogenated castor oil ratio of 2:1. The responses obtained from the optimum levels were a 34.01 nm droplet size, a polydispersity index of 0.15, and 75.85% entrapment efficiency. In conclusion, TFE could be an antioxidant active ingredient and has been successfully loaded into nanoemulsions using RSM.