  Lycopene contributes to the red-colored pigmentation of fruits and
vegetables, and it is a fat-soluble carotenoid with antioxidant properties.
Epidemiological studies have shown the significant health benefits associated
to the consumption of lycopene rich foods, because of the anti-cancer
properties. Degradative losses of lycopene during processing is a grave
concern, hence encapsulation provides a remedy. The objective of this study is
to evaluate the encapsulation efficiency of two biodegradable polymers (PLGA
and PCL) as for controlled release of lycopene in the gastrointestinal (GI)
system. The nanoparticles (NP) were synthesized by emulsion evaporation method
and physicochemical properties was determined using a Dynamic Light Scattering
spectroscopy. The results show the hydrodynamic diameter of the lycopene NP
synthesized in PCL (200 mg) and 3500 mg surfactant and sonicated for 15 min was
79.23+0.85 nm (Lowest). PLGA (500 mg) and 500 mg surfactant with 15 min
sonication was observed to have the lowest NP diameter (108.2+2.66 nm) among
the others. Significant difference result found in PDI value (0.12+0.07) when
PCL of 200mg dissolve in 3500 mg of surfactant. On the other hands the zeta
potential values were much smaller in case of PCL NP ranged between -1.3+0.046
and -4.21+0.08 mV compared to the PLGA NP -72.36+2.17 to 107.66+3.15 mV in all
experiments. Thus, NP synthesized with PCL and surfactant provide a smaller
sized nano-solution than PLGA and surfactant. As the degradation rate for PCL
is lower than PLGA so PCL can be considered as a potential biodegradable
polymer than PLGA to encapsulate lycopene.
