In this study, virgin coconut oil (VCO)-based lamellar liquid crystal (LLC) systems was formulated from single and mixed surfactants system of Brij30/H2O/VCO and Tween 60:Brij30/H2O/VCO, respectively using trial and error method with fixed composition. The study incorporated lycopene, as an additive compound into the formulated VCO-based LLC (V-L) with varying percentages of lycopene in VCO phase prior to mixing all the ingredients in a desired composition. The purpose of this study was to determine the best V- L system for use as a platform that can accommodate optimum lycopene. Physicochemical characterisation of the systems was performed by optical polarising microscopy (OPM), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and rheological profile analysis. The OPM and SAXS results showed that both systems were capable of accommodating lycopene up to 70 wt%. Optical polarising microscope study showed that the lamellar texture of both systems remained even in the presence of lycopene up to 70 wt%, without any changes in the mesophases. The textures consist of striated, maltese cross and oily streak and the sharpest and clearest texture was exhibited by the Brij30/H2O/VCO system. The formation of lamella structures was also supported from the SAXS analysis where two recurring scattering peaks of scattering peak 1 and peak 2 for first derivation were observed in the SAXS spectrum of all the samples studied with a value of d < 56.38 Å. Rheological study showed that lamellar structure of Brij 30 system was much stronger than the Tween 60: Brij 30 system. The addition of 30 wt% of lycopene content to the Brij 30 system resulted in the lamellar structure with the strongest network and the most stable internal structure. In conclusion, the best V-L formulation was from the Brij 30/H2O/VCO system with the optimum lycopene content at 30 wt%.
Volume 11 | 06-Special Issue
Pages: 1852-1858