Synergistic anti-cancer potential and sensory enhancement of green tea and turmeric extract combination via freeze-dried encapsulation

Polyphenols-rich plant extracts such as green tea catechins and turmeric curcuminoids are extensively studied for their antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. However, their poor stability, low bioavailability and strong undesirable flavors limit their application in functional foods. This study investigates the synergistic anti-cancer activity combinations of green tea and turmeric extracts against Huh7 liver cancer cells and evaluates the effect of encapsulation on their stability, bioavailability, sensory properties and consumer acceptance. A combination extract (COE) in a 2:1 ratio (12.5,6.25 μg/mL) significantly reduced Huh7 cell viability, with a combination index of 0.15 ± 0.05 indicating strong synergy. To overcome limitations in bioaccessibility and palatability, COE was encapsulated using pectin, maltodextrin, and inulin via freeze-drying, resulting in the encapsulated combination extract (ECOE) with high encapsulation efficiencies (79.52 ± 3.01 % for catechins and 82.14 ± 1.99 % for curcuminoids). Simulated in vitro digestion showed greater retention of bioactives in ECOE compared to COE. GC-E-Nose analysis and sensory evaluation confirmed significant reductions in pungent volatile compounds, bitterness, and astringency, with significantly higher consumer liking scores for ECOE across all attributes. These findings highlight a dual-functional strategy, synergistic extract design with optimized encapsulation that enhances both biological efficacy and sensory acceptability, supporting scalable applications in functional foods and nutraceuticals.