Natural Antioxidants of Some Herbs; Identification, Determination and Nano encapsulation

Four types of herbs (rosemary, turmeric, nigella and ginger) were selected and their extracts were determined and identified for polyphenols by (HPLC). The extracts were then loaded onto chitosan and converted into nano-particles. The properties of the nanoparticles were studied using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and the concentration of phenolic substances and antioxidant activity in these nanoparticles were also examined. The results showed significant differences in the chemical composition of the herbs, with ginger having the highest moisture content and nigella having the highest protein percentage. Phenolic substances composition revealed that turmeric contained chlorogenic , syringenic, cinnamic, gallic, benzoic, ellagic acids and pyrogallol, whereas rosemary contained cholorogenic, syringenic, p-coumaric, cinnamic, caffeic, gallic, ferulic, rosmarinic acids and pyrogallol. Nigella contained chlorogenic, syringenic, p-OH benzoic, cinnamic, caffeic, gallic, ferulic, salicylic, ellagic acids catechol and pyrogallol. As for ginger, it has been separated into chlorogenic, syringenic, p-coumaric, cinnamic ,gallic, ferulic, ellagic acids and pyrogallol The nanoparticles were found to be well-stable and separated during preparation, with a smooth, random agglomerated appearance. The zeta potential values of the prepared nanoparticles indicated good diffusion and dispersion, resulting in physically stable particles. The rosemary chitosan nanoparticles had the highest antioxidant activity value of DPPH 79.5% followed by ginger nanoparticles (69.87%) and turmeric nanoparticles (69.00%), while nigella nanoparticles were the lowest (61.50% ).