Ecofriendly cascade extraction of antioxidants from Origanum vulgare: Morphological and rheological behavior of microparticles formulations

Bioactive compounds from Origanum vulgare have been extracted to enriched foods. This has contributed to consumer acceptance. These extracts have been obtained using a sequential extraction process to recover the maximum amount of the bioactive compounds for the formulation of microparticles. Extracts obtained from both extraction technologies (ultrasound and pressurized hot water extraction) were analyzed. When the ultrasound technology was used, total phenolic content and protein content were highest (29 % and 4.7 %, respectively). The second extraction showed lower values around 72 % for TEAC value, 14 % phenolic content and 5.4 % protein content (g/100 extract). The IC50 for the ultrasound extract is 0.27 g/L and the lower value for the sequential treatment is 0.49 g/L. The polymeric microparticles were formulated with the ultrasound extract at different percentages of mannitol (2 % and 5 %). It was observed that microparticles (5 % mannitol) had a smaller particle size distribution (∼12 µm) and flow curves exhibiting shear-thinning behavior, which were successfully fitted with the power law model.