Regiane Victória de Barros Fernandes

Gum arabic/starch/maltodextrin/inulin as wall materials on the microencapsulation of rosemary essential oil.

The effects of the partial or total replacement of gum arabic by modified starch, maltodextrin and inulin on the characteristics of rosemary essential oil microencapsulated by spray drying were evaluated in this study. The lowest level of water absorption under conditions of high relative humidity was observed in treatments containing inulin. The wettability property of the powders was improved by the addition of inulin. The total replacement of gum arabic by modified starch or a mixture of modified starch and maltodextrin (1:1, m/m) did not significantly affect the efficiency of encapsulation, although higher Tg values were exhibited by microcapsules prepared using pure gum arabic or gum arabic and inulin. 1,8-cineol, camphor and α-pinene were the main components identified by gas chromatography in the oils extracted from the microcapsules. The particles had smoother surfaces and more folds when gum arabic or inulin was present. Larger particles were observed in the powders prepared with pure gum arabic or modified starch.

Microencapsulation of Rosemary Essential Oil: Characterization of Particles

This study evaluated the influence of wall material concentration (10–30%), inlet temperature (135–195°C), and feed rate (0.5–1.0 L · h−1) on the properties of rosemary oil microencapsulated by spray-drying, with gum arabic as carrier. Powder recovery, surface oil, oil retention, and hygroscopicity varied from 17.25%–33.96%, 0.03%–0.15%, 7.15%–47.57%, and 15.87%–18.90%, respectively. The optimized conditions were determined to be a wall material concentration of 19.3%, an inlet air temperature of 171°C, and a feed flow rate of 0.92 L · h−1. At this condition, particles presented no fissures and the compositions of pure and microencapsulated oil were similar. The sorption isotherms could be described by the GAB model.

Optimization of fish oil spray drying using a protein: inulin system

The aim of this work was to investigate the use of an unconven-tional polymeric material, inulin, in fish oil spray drying. The influence of inlet air temperature, oil load, and carrier substitution (whey protein isolate by inulin) on the physical properties of particles containing fish oil was investigated. Increasing the oil load caused an increase in the surface oil; however, the presence of inulin favorably decreased the particle surface oil when a high oil lad was applied. The parameters hygroscopicity and wettability were also influenced by the inulin fraction. The higher inlet air temperature produced larger particles with lower densities. The best operating conditions were determined to be an air temperature of 185°C, a 40% inulin fraction, and a 6% oil load. The results indicate that inulin is an alternative carrier in the fish oil spray-drying process.

Development of chitosan/montmorillonite nanocomposites with encapsulated α-tocopherol.

Nanocomposites of chitosan (CS) were developed and characterized in a full factorial design with varying levels of montmorillonite (MMTNa) and encapsulated tocopherol (toc-encap). The structural properties (XRD, FTIR), morphology (TEM), hygroscopic properties (water vapour permeability, hydrophobicity, sorption isotherms) and optical properties (haze, CIELab parameters) of the resulting materials were evaluated. Toc-encap contents up to 10% influenced the intercalation of MMTNa in the CS matrix, resulting in films with reduced water vapour permeability (3.48×10(-11)(g/msPa)), increased hydrophobicity (ΔGHydroph |7.93-59.54|mJm(-2)) and lower equilibrium moisture content (EMC), thus showing potential for active food packaging materials. At levels above 10%, toc-encap agglomerates occurred, which deteriorated the properties of the resulting films, as shown with the TEM. As the toc-encap content increased, the films became slightly more yellow, more irregular and less transparent, with a higher haze index.

Cashew gum and inulin: New alternative for ginger essential oil microencapsulation.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of partial replacement of cashew gum by inulin used as wall materials, on the characteristics of ginger essential oil microencapsulated by spray drying with ultrasound assisted emulsions. The characterization of particles was evaluated as encapsulation efficiency and particle size. In addition, the properties of the microcapsules were studied through FTIR analysis, adsorption isotherms, thermal gravimetric analysis, X-ray and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the solubility of the treatments was affected by the composition of the wall material and reached higher values (89.80%) when higher inulin concentrations were applied. The encapsulation efficiency (15.8%) was lower at the highest inulin concentration. The particles presented amorphous characteristics and treatment with cashew gum as encapsulant exhibited the highest water absorption at high water activity. The cashew gum and inulin matrix (3:1(w/w) ratio) showed the best characteristics regarding the encapsulation efficiency and morphology, showing no cracks in the structure.

Revestimento ativo de amido na conservação pós-colheita de pera Williams minimamente processada

Pear is one of the most consumed temperate fruits in Brazil; however their conservation is limited due to browning when it suffers injuries or physical treatments. The edibles coating interact with the food positively extending its shelf life. This research aimed to evaluate the action of starch edible coating incorporated with calcium lactate and L-cysteine on enzymatic browning inhibition, on psychrotrophs and enterobacteriaceae growing reduction and on firmness maintenance. The sliced pears were coated with starch edible coating incorporated with L-cysteine and calcium lactate, except control, without coating (C). The treatment were: only coating (T1); 2,0% calcium lactate and 1,0% L-cysteine (T2); 2,0% calcium lactate and 1,5% L-cysteine (T3). The samples were taken at 0, 2, 4 and 6 days. Pears were keeped under refrigeration (7°C±2°C). Pears submitted to treatments T2 and T3 show significantly more firms (P<0,05) compared to treatments C and T1. Cysteine action over enzymatic browning inhibition was observed in treatments T2 and T3 which do not differed significantly each other (P≥0,05) to ∆E values however these were significantly lower than control (C). At time 6, decimal reduction on psychrotrophs counting reached 3,03 and 2,43 to T3 e T2 compared to control. Enterobacteriaceae counting showed similar behavior where the reduction values were 3,16 and 3,05 to T2 e T3 compared to control. It was verified that using the studied edible coating on fresh cut pear can extend its shelf life.

Prebiotic Carbohydrates: Effect on Reconstitution, Storage, Release, and Antioxidant Properties of Lime Essential Oil Microparticles

The aim of this study was to include prebiotic biopolymers as wall material in microparticles of lime essential oil. Whey protein isolate (WPI), inulin (IN), and oligofructose (OL) biopolymers were used in the following combinations: WPI, WPI/IN (4:1), and WPI/OL (4:1). The emulsion droplets in the presence of inulin and oligofructose showed larger sizes on reconstitution. There was no significant difference in solubility of the particles, but the wettability was improved on addition of the polysaccharides. The size of the oligofructose chains favored the adsorption of water. Prebiotic biopolymers reduced thermal and chemical stability of the encapsulated oil. Microparticles produced with WPI showed a higher bioactive compound release rate, mainly due to its structural properties, that enabled rapid diffusion of oil through the pores. The use of prebiotic biopolymers can be a good option to add value to encapsulated products, thus promoting health benefits.

Proposing Novel Encapsulating Matrices for Spray-Dried Ginger Essential Oil from the Whey Protein Isolate-Inulin/Maltodextrin Blends

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the blending of whey protein isolate (WPI) with maltodextrin (MD) and inulin (IN) biopolymers as encapsulating matrices for spray-dried ginger essential oil. Encapsulation was performed by ultrasound-assisted emulsification and using spray drying, and the stability parameters of the emulsion (with or without ultrasound-assisted) were evaluated. The influence of these different wall material systems was investigated based on various functional properties of microparticles such as stability of the emulsion, encapsulation efficiency, reconstitution properties, chemical profile, microparticle stability, morphology, particle size distribution, and crystallinity. Higher viscosity values were obtained for the emulsions prepared with WPI and IN which had the apparent viscosity increased by the ultrasound-assisted emulsification process. Creaming index values indicated that ultrasound-assisted emulsions had higher stability. The composition of the wall materials did not affect the solubility and the moisture content of the particles. The wettability property of the powders was improved by the addition of IN. The lowest level of water adsorption under conditions of high relative humidity was also observed in microparticles containing IN. The partial replacement of WPI by MD significantly affected the efficiency of encapsulation. Moreover, MD led to high thermal microparticle stability. Larger particles were observed in the powders prepared with WPI. The powders obtained from WPI, WPI:IN, and WPI:MD treatments exhibited amorphous structures and did not have any cracks on the surface. The findings of this study indicate that IN and MD together with WPI proved to be good alternative secondary wall materials for spray-dried ginger oil.

Study of Different Wall Matrix Biopolymers on the Properties of Spray-Dried Pequi Oil and on the Stability of Bioactive Compounds

This work aimed to evaluate the effect of the partial replacement of whey protein isolate (WPI), by maltodextrin (MD) and by inulin (IN), on the characteristics of spray-dried pequi oil and on the degradation of its bioactive compounds. Three treatments, WPI, WPI/MD (1:1), and WPI/IN (1:1), were carried out, and the characteristics of the emulsions and microparticles were evaluated. In addition, thermal analysis, X-ray, and scanning electron microscopy of microparticles were carried out. It was found that the solubility of the encapsulations was affected by the composition of the wall material and reached higher value (88.26%) when IN was applied. The encapsulation efficiency (74.49%) was lower with IN. The particles presented amorphous characteristics, and the treatments WPI and WPI/IN exhibited smoother and spherical morphology. WPI and WPI/MD showed greater thermal stability and also better protection of the antioxidative capacity of the oil through the β-carotene bleaching assay. The WPI system showed better protection of β-carotene, δ-carotene, and lycopene, compared to the bulk oil, while WPI/MD protected better the γ-carotene and WPI/IN showed better protection of α-carotene.

Stability of lime essential oil microparticles produced with protein-carbohydrate blends

The objective of this work was to analyze the influence of maltodextrin equivalent dextrose on the lime essential oil reconstitution, storage, release and protection properties. Four treatments were evaluated: whey protein concentrate (WPC), and blends of maltodextrin with dextrose equivalents of 5 (WM5), 10 (WM10) and 20 (WM20). The reconstitution and storage properties of the microparticles (solubility, wettability and density), water kinetics adsorption, sorption isotherms, thermogravimetric properties, controlled release and degradation kinetics of encapsulated lime essential oil were studied to measure the quality of the encapsulated materials. The results of the study indicated that the DE degree influences the characteristics of reconstitution, storage, controlled release and degradation characteristics of encapsulated bioactive compounds. The increase in dextrose equivalent improves microparticle solubility, wettability and density, mainly due to the size of the maltodextrin molecules. The adsorption kinetics and sorption isotherm curves confirmed the increase in the hygroscopicity of maltodextrins with higher degrees of polymerization. The size of the maltodextrin chains influenced the release and protection of the encapsulated lime essential oil. Finally, the maltodextrin polymerization degree can be considered a parameter that will influence the physicochemical properties of microencapsulated food.