Alginate-based blends consisting of carrageenan, pectin, chitosan or psyllium husk powder were
prepared for assessment of the best formulation aimed at encapsulation of caffeine. Alginate-pectin blend
exhibited the lowest viscosity and provided the smallest beads. Alginate-psyllium husk blend was
characterised with higher viscosity, yielding the largest bead size and the highest caffeine encapsulation
efficiency (83.6%). The release kinetics of caffeine indicated that the porosity of alginate hydrogel was not
reduced sufficiently to retard the diffusion of caffeine from the beads. Chitosan coated alginate beads provided
the most retarded release of caffeine in water. Morphological characteristics of beads encapsulating
caffeine were adversely affected by freeze drying. Bitterness intensity of caffeine-containing beads in
water was the lowest for alginate-psyllium beads and chitosan coated alginate beads. Higher sodium
alginate concentration (3%) for production of hydrogel beads in combination with psyllium or chitosan
coating would present the most favourable carrier systems for immobilization of caffeine.