Performance and structural comparison of hydrogels made from wheat bran arabinoxylan using enzymatic and coacervation methods as micro-and nano- encapsulation and delivery devices.

This study evaluated the structural and performance differences between arabinoglucuronoxylan micro-hydrogels that were enzymatically produced from alkaline-extracted wheat bran arabinoglucuronoxylans using recombinant α-L-arabinofuranosidase (AbfB) that selectively removes arabinose side chains, and chemically through coacervation process, as delivery devices for bioactive substances. The encapsulations of model bioactive substance, gallic acid (GA), in the hydrogels, were done either in-situ or ex-situ to identify the most effective encapsulation and delivery method. The hydrogels particle size distribution, polydispersity index, GA encapsulation efficiency, retention and release of functional GA (based on antioxidant activity) were assessed.