Improvement of Anthocyanin Encapsulation Efficiency into Yeast Cell by Plasmolysis, Ethanol, and Anthocyanin Concentration Using Response Surface Methodology

Anthocyanins are antioxidant compounds susceptible to environmental factors. Anthocyanin encapsulation into yeast cells is a viable solution to overcome this problem. In this study, the optimal factors for anthocyanin encapsulation were investigated, including anthocyanin concentration, plasmolysis contraction agent, and ethanol concentration, and response surface methodology was evaluated, for the first time. Anthocyanin from Hibiscus sabdariffa L. flowers was encapsulated into Saccharomyces cerevisiae using plasmolysis contraction agent (B: 3%-20% w/v), ethanol concentration (C: 3%-20% v/v), and anthocyanin concentration (A: 0.15-0.45 g/ml). The encapsulation yield and anthocyanin loss rate were determined using a spectrometer (520 nm), and color stability evaluation of the capsules was performed at 80℃ for 30 min. The results of the study showed that these factors have a significant impact on the encapsulation of anthocyanin, in which ethanol agents have the highest encapsulation yield compared to other factors in the study. Statistical analysis shows that the independent variables (A, B, C), their squares (A², B², C²), and the interaction between B and C have a significant effect on the encapsulation yield. The optimized factors were anthocyanin, 0.25 g/ml; NaCl, 9.5% (w/v); and ethanol, 11% (v/v) with an encapsulation yield of 36.56% ± 0.55% and anthocyanin loss rate of 15.15% ± 0.98%; This is consistent with the expected encapsulation yield of 35.46% and loss rate of 13.2%.