Evaluation of the Efficiency of Encapsulation and Bioaccessibility of Polyphenol Microcapsules from Cocoa Pod Husks Using Different Techniques and Encapsulating Agents

Cocoa pod husk (CPH) has the potential to be utilized for polyphenol extraction to be used in functional food formulations and pharmaceutical formulations due to its health benefits. However, polyphenols are sensitive to environmental factors that reduce their stability and functionality. Therefore, encapsulation is necessary to protect their antioxidant capacity, mask undesirable flavours and smells, and, at the same time, allow the release of polyphenols in the gastrointestinal phases. This study encapsulated polyphenols using complex coacervation (CC) and spray drying (SD) with gum arabic (GA), sodium alginate (SA), chitosan (C), and gelatine (G), and evaluated yield (EY), encapsulation efficiency (EE), loading efficiency (LE), and bioaccessibility through in vitro digestion. The results showed that in the encapsulation using CC, the highest LE of 36.95 ± 7.63% was obtained using SA-G. In SD, significant differences in LE were observed among the tested encapsulant ratios, with the highest LE of 34.77 ± 1.2% achieved using GA (1:3). Bioaccessibility varied significantly depending on the encapsulation technique and encapsulating agent (EA) used. Using GA and spray drying (SD), the highest polyphenol release was achieved at 76.55 ± 5.10%, in contrast to only 6.41 ± 1.61% for the non-encapsulated extract. In conclusion, both techniques for encapsulating polyphenols extracted from CPH are efficient. However, SD allows for greater polyphenol bioaccessibility.