Preparation and Delayed Release Study on Pancreatin Encapsulated into Alginate, Carrageenan and Pectin Hydrogels

In this study, biopolymer-based pH-sensitive hydrogels have been successfully prepared using alginate, κ-carrageenan and pectin aimed at the encapsulation of pancreatin (hydrolytic enzymes like α-amylase, lipase and protease) so as to preserve enzymatic activities. Hydrogels have been characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), swelling degree and swelling profile. Encapsulation efficiency and in vitro studies on delayed release have also been evaluated. All hydrogels presented low swelling degree and enzyme release in a gastric medium. On the other hand, high swelling degree and enzyme release were observed in an intestinal medium. Alginate hydrogel achieved optimal results concerning encapsulation efficiency (18, 68 and 53% for α-amylase, lipase and protease, respectively) and delayed release (363, 7,673 and 17,497 U for α-amylase, lipase and protease, respectively) which has been afterwards compared to a commercial pancreatin formulation (CreonTM 10,000). Thus, it presented better performance than its commercial formulation, mainly in respect of lipase.