Development of high value products from black pepper: (1) nano emulsion system of pepper essential oil and neem oil (2) soft capsule containing piperine with curcumin and sacha inchi

Abstract

Vietnamese pepper is of good quality, exported to many parts of the world, bringing income to people, but it is still not sustainable. With the desire to better exploit the value of pepper and stabilize the source of income for farmers, the project wants to create applied products from pepper, namely (1) nano-products of pepper essential oil with neem oil, and another product is (2) piperine-curcumin soft capsule. Pepper essential oil is obtained from the peel of pepper which has many health values. Nano neem pepper essential oil is used as a biological product to prevent and kill pests and diseases for crops. Piperine obtained from pepper skullcap enhances the potency of many compounds such as curcumin. Curcumin is the active ingredient in turmeric, supporting the treatment of stomach ulcers, anti-inflammatory, preventing cancer, ... but difficult to absorb. Curcumin-piperine oral tablet can increase absorption and optimize effectiveness. The goal of the project was to explore and determine the most suitable formula of curcumin and piperine dissolved in Sacha Inchi oil, as well as to investigate into the influencing factors of the surrounding environment on the system's long-term stability. Since then, the formula has been developed and used to produce the soft gels of curcumin in Sacha inchi oil containing piperine. The study results that co-solvents influence directly on the solubility of curcumin in the Sacha Inchi oil. This result can be used for further investigation about the stability of the solution and the ability for preserving the active ingredients. On another hand, the nanoemulsion will be fabricated specifically using phase inversion temperature method (PIT) with polysorbate emulsifiers of different values of hydrophobic-hydrophilic balance (HLB) and different ratios of neem oil and black pepper essential oil in the oil phase with polysorbate 80 (Tween 80). The stability of this nano emulsion system is subsequently evaluated following several factors including time, temperature, and storage conditions. At the final stage, the nano emulsion of Pepper and Neem was fabricated for the application as the biopesticide based on their bio-pesticidal effects. The study results revealed that the system achieved the optimal nanoemulsion following the ratio between neem oil and3 black pepper essential oil in the oil phase is 5:1 and the ratio between surfactant and oil is 10:3 with an HLB value less than 16 and the best storage condition is at room temperature and away from direct sunlight. The study is a part of Project of research and application for technology development provincial of Ba Ria – Vung Tau province: “Research on production of high – value products (Piperine and Oleoresin) as raw materials using in pharmaceuticals and supplements from Black pepper in Ba Ria – Vung Tau”.