Abstract
In preparation of microcapsules encapsulated herbal extract for clinical treatment, it is necessary to develop an appropriate method for maximizing the herb loading inside the microcapsules and increasing encapsulation efficiency. In order to design an appropriate method for microcapsules preparation, an orthogonal experimental design was used for determination of the optimum level of each variable in the process. In this study, there are four types of polymer used for developing microcapsules - chitosan (CMC), chitosan-sodium alginate (CSA), gelatin (GMC), and gelatin-arabic gum (GAG). Emulsion-chemical cross-linking method was used in preparing these four types of polymer microcapsules. An orthogonal array was employed to vary four independent variables including core-to-shell ratio (A), concentration of shell material in % (B), agitation speed in rpm (C) and cross-linking time in minutes (D) to optimize two dependent variables - particle size and yield of making such four types of polymer microcapsules. Based on the results, an optimum level of each variable and the order sequence of the importance of each variable in production of polymer microcapsules were determined. It is useful for practitioners in effectively preparation of encapsulated the herbal extract in microcapsules.
