Encapsulation of bromelain in alginate-carboxymethyl cellulose microspheres as an antiplatelet agent

Bromelain isolated from pineapple (Ananas comosus) can be an excellent phytotherapeutic agent for cardiovascular treatment as it can inhibit platelet aggregation. However, if it is used orally, it can be easily degraded in an acidic pH environment due to enzymes secreted during the digestion process. Its instability under a certain condition will reduce its pharmacological activity and, as a result, will reduce its health benefit. Therefore bromelain needs to be encapsulated in a matrix such as alginate-carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) microsphere cross-linked to Ca²⁺ ion, which will act as a carrier agent. In this research, bromelain encapsulation is done by in situ encapsulation. Particle size analyzer (PSA), Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer, and scanning electron microscope are used as characterization instruments to investigate the encapsulation of bromelain into the alginate-CMC microsphere. PSA analysis showed that the molecular size of the alginate-CMC microspheres was in the 496.05±2.72 and 629.65±8.70 nm. Encapsulation study using the Bradford method showed that the highest encapsulation ratio was achieved at alginate-CMC ratio of 1.5:0.5 (% w/v:% w/v). These results demonstrated that the alginate-CMC microsphere had potential to be an effective matrix for bromelain encapsulation. (paper)