Fuente: Journal of applied polymer Lugar: RESEARCH ARTICLE Phenolic-rich extracts from Theobroma cacao are obtained using ethanol (FSE) or ethanol–acetone (SSE) extraction. The SSE extract yields the higher phenolic content and stronger α-glucosidase and lipase inhibition. The encapsulation of extracts in chitosan–alginate nanoparticles (328–455 nm) with encapsulation efficiencies up to 64.45% presents sustained gastrointestinal release, with cumulative release remaining below 50%.

ABSTRACT
Phenolic-rich extracts from Theobroma cacao are obtained under different solvent extraction conditions, that is, with ethanol solo (first-stage extract [FSE]) and with ethanol-acetone in two steps (second-stage extract [SSE]) to maximize bioactive compound recovery. Among the evaluated solvents, acetone yields the highest total phenolic content (532.57 μg GAE/g), and the corresponding extract exhibited strong inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase (IC50 = 4.04 μg/mL) and lipase (IC50 = 14.034 μg/mL), highlighting its potential role in the prevention of metabolic diseases. However, phenolic compounds often present limited stability and bioavailability, which may restrict their practical application. To address this limitation, cocoa phenolic extracts were encapsulated within chitosan–alginate nanoparticles (CANPs) using a polyelectrolyte complexation approach. The obtained nanoparticles exhibited particle sizes ranging from 328.5 to 454.9 nm for FSE and SSE formulations, respectively, along with high absolute zeta potential values (> |32| mV), indicating good colloidal stability. The extraction method significantly influenced the encapsulation efficiency (EE), with SSE-CANPs showing substantially higher EE (64.45% ± 0.49%) compared to FSE-CANPs (33.93% ± 0.24%). The in vitro release of phenolic compounds was evaluated under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. The total cumulative release remained below 50%, indicating high resistance to rapid degradation and enabling a sustained release profile under varying pH conditions.