Renata V. Tonon

Microencapsulation of Flaxseed Oil by Spray Drying: Effect of Oil Load and Type of Wall Material

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the type of wall material and the oil load on the microencapsulation of flaxseed oil by spray drying. Gum arabic, whey protein concentrate, and a modified starch were used to produce the microcapsules, each with four oil concentrations (10, 20, 30, and 40% oil, w/w, with respect to total solids), for a total of 12 tests. Initially, the feed emulsions were characterized for stability, viscosity, and droplet size. Then they were dried in a laboratory-scale spray dryer and the resulting particles were analyzed for encapsulation efficiency, lipid oxidation, moisture content, and bulk density. The increase in oil concentration led to the production of emulsions with larger droplets and lower viscosity, which directly affected powder properties, resulting in lower encapsulation efficiency and higher lipid oxidation. Among the three wall materials evaluated, the modified starch showed the best performance, with the highest encapsulation efficiency and lowest peroxide values.

Influência da temperatura do ar de secagem e da concentração de agente carreador sobre as propriedades físico-químicas do suco de açaí em pó

The objective of this work was to study the influence of inlet air temperature and maltodextrin concentration on the physicochemical properties of acai juice powder produced by spray drying. The process was carried out in a mini spray dryer and the maltodextrin 10DE was used as carrier agent. Inlet air temperature varied from 138 to 202 °C and maltodextrin concentration varied from 10 to 30%. The characteristics analyzed were: moisture content, hygroscopicity, anthocyanin retention, color, particle size distribution, and morphology. The increase in the temperature resulted in particles with larger size, less moisture content, more hygroscopy and with lower anthocyanin retention, besides promoting a reduction in the color parameter L* and in the hue angle H*. The increase of maltodextrin concentration resulted in less hygroscopy, particles with larger size, , with higher luminosity (L*), lower C* values and higher H* values. With respect to morphology, the increase in the temperature led to the formation of a great number of particles with smooth surface, which is due to the higher heat transfer and, consequently, to the faster formation of a membrane around the atomized drop.

Influence of Process Conditions on the Mass Transfer Kinetics of Pulsed Vacuum Osmotically Dehydrated Mango Slices

The pulsed vacuum osmotic dehydration of mango slices was studied using a 25–1 fractional factorial design. The process responses were water loss, solids gain, water activity, and the effective diffusivities of the water or solids. Statistical analyses revealed that temperature and solution concentration were significant for all the responses studied. Vacuum time was significant for solids gain and the effective diffusivity of water. Diffusion coefficients were determined using an analytical solution of Ficks unidirectional diffusion equation for flat plates, showing a good fit to the experimental data. Osmotic recirculation and vacuum pressure had no effect on any of the responses studied.

Effect of Homogenization Pressure and Oil Load on the Emulsion Properties and the Oil Retention of Microencapsulated Basil Essential Oil (Ocimum basilicum L.)

The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of oil concentration and homogenization pressure on the emulsion and particle properties during the microencapsulation of basil essential oil by spray drying, using gum arabic as the wall material. Experiments were planned according a 22 rotational central composite design. The independent variables were oil concentration with respect to total solids (10–25%) and homogenization pressure (0–100 MPa). Emulsions were analyzed for droplet mean diameter, stability, and viscosity, and particles were analyzed for oil retention, moisture content, particle size, and morphology. Emulsion viscosity was not affected by any of the independent variables. The increase in the homogenization pressure from 0 to 100 MPa resulted in smaller emulsion droplet size (down to 0.40 µm) and, consequently, higher oil retention (up to 95%). On the other hand, higher oil loads (25%) resulted in poorer oil retention (51.22%). Microencapsulation of basil essential oil using gum arabic as the wall material proved to be a suitable process to obtain powdered basil essential oil, presenting great oil retention with the use of lower oil concentration and higher homogenization pressure.

Cinética de transferência de massa de melão desidratado osmoticamente em soluções de sacarose e maltose

Cubos de melao de 20mm da variedade Cucumis melo inodorus, cultivar Gold Mine foram desidratados osmoticamente com o objetivo de se estudar a cinetica de transferencia de massa durante o processo. As amostras foram imersas em solucoes hipertonicas de sacarose ou maltose nas concentracoes de 40 a 60°Brix e a desidratacao foi conduzida por 8 horas com temperatura controlada (30 ou 40°C) e agitacao de 120rpm. Perda de agua e incorporacao de solidos na fruta foram avaliados ao longo do processo em funcao da temperatura de tratamento, tipo e concentracao da solucao. Os coeficientes de difusao para a agua e os acucares foram estimados atraves de um modelo empirico da literatura, baseado na equacao de Fick. Para todos os ensaios, a perda de agua aumentou significativamente com a elevacao da temperatura e da concentracao da solucao desidratante, entretanto, os ensaios com maltose promoveram uma maior taxa de saida de agua da fruta e menor ganho de solidos. O modelo empirico utilizado se ajustou adequadamente aos dados experimentais, apresentando valores do coeficiente de correlacao (R2) superiores a 0,92.

Towards integral utilization of grape pomace from winemaking process: A review

Grape is the main fruit crop in several countries. Although many grape-based food products can be found in the market, studies have shown that around 75% of the world grape production is destined for the wine industry. Grape pomace is an abundant by-product from the wine industry, which consists of the remaining skin, seeds and stalks and represents around 25% of total grape weight used in the winemaking process. In countries such as Italy, France and Spain, where wine production is more relevant, the annual grape pomace generation can reach nearly 1200 tonnes per year. In order to reach a sustainable winemaking process there is a need of a waste reduction policy. Several studies explore this subject using grape pomace as a source of healthy and technological compounds that could be applied in animal feed, pharmaceutical, cosmetic or food industry to improve stability and nutritional characteristics, and in cosmetic industry, where grape seeds oil is widely used. This review aims to approach the recent winemaking scenario and the benefits achieved when a waste management policy is implemented, as well as to compare available extractive technologies and a wide alternative of uses for grape pomace.

Estabilidade da polpa de morango atomizada utilizando diferentes agentes carreadores

Este trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar o efeito de diferentes agentes carreadores (Maltodextrina 5DE, Maltodextrina 10DE, Goma arabica e Capsul®) nas caracteristicas fisico-quimicas (umidade, densidade, solubilidade, teor de antocianinas e atividade antioxidante) da polpa de morango desidratada por atomizacao e armazenada a temperatura ambiente por 90 dias. A utilizacao dos diferentes agentes carreadores resultou em pos com valores de densidade aparente entre 0,40 e 0,52 g/cm3 e umidade menor do que 2,5%. Todas as amostras foram altamente soluveis, mas os pos obtidos com a Maltodextrina 5DE e com a Goma arabica apresentaram menor higroscopicidade. As isotermas de sorcao obtidas foram do tipo III e o modelo de GAB foi o que melhor se ajustou aos dados experimentais. A amostra produzida com goma arabica apresentou a maior concentracao de antocianinas e, consequentemente, maior valor de atividade antioxidante, tanto imediatamente apos a secagem como ao longo de 90 dias de armazenamento. Os resultados obtidos indicaram que a goma arabica foi o agente carreador mais adequado para a producao de polpa de morango em po.

Effect of process variables on the osmotic dehydration of star-fruit slices

The objective of this work was to study the effect of blanching and the influence of temperature, solution concentration, and the initial fruit:solution ratio on the osmotic dehydration of star-fruit slices. For blanching, different concentrations of citric and ascorbic acids were studied. The samples immersed in 0.75% citric acid presented little variation in color in relation to the fresh star-fruit. Osmotic dehydration was carried out in an incubator with orbital shaking, controlled temperature, and constant shaking at 120 rpm. The influence of process variables was studied in trials defined by a complete 23 central composite design. In general, water loss and solids gain were positively influenced by temperature and by solution concentration. Nevertheless, lower temperatures reduced water loss throughout the osmotic dehydration process. An increase in the amount of dehydrating solution (initial fruit:solution ratio) slightly influenced the evaluated responses. The process carried out at 50 oC with a solution concentration of 50% resulted in a product with lower solids gain and greater water loss. Under these conditions, blanching minimized the effect of the osmotic treatment on star-fruit browning, and therefore the blanched fruits showed little variation in color in relation to the fresh fruit.

Grape by-product extracts against microbial proliferation and lipid oxidation: a review.

The wine industry is responsible for the production of million tons of waste, such as grape skin, stalk, sludge and seeds, which can be considered inexpensive sources of phenolic compound owing to incomplete extraction during wine production. Phenolic compounds, also called polyphenols, comprise the most abundant bioactive compounds in grape and are recognized by their antioxidant and antimicrobial potential. Because of their functional properties, extracts obtained from grape wastes, which are rich in phenolic compounds, can be employed in the development of many products, ranging from medical to food applications, decreasing the growth of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms and inhibiting lipid oxidation. These characteristics are motivating the research for alternative sources of natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agents, aimed at decreasing the use of artificial additives, which have been associated with some toxic effects. This article provides a review of the use of grape by-product extracts and their bioactive compounds as natural antioxidant and antimicrobial agents in food products.

Coupling of ultrafiltration and enzymatic hydrolysis aiming at valorizing shrimp wastewater.

The objective of this work was to obtain a protein hydrolysate from the wastewater generated during shrimp cooking, by coupling ultrafiltration and enzymatic hydrolysis processes. Initially, the effluent was concentrated by ultrafiltration, reaching a protein concentration factor of 3.2. The concentrated effluent was then enzymatically hydrolyzed, aiming at obtaining peptides with antioxidant capacity. The effects of some process variables--temperature (55-75 °C), pH (7-9) and enzyme/substrate (E/S) ratio (0.1-2.5%)--on the degree of hydrolysis and the antioxidant capacity were evaluated. The increase in temperature and pH resulted in lower degree of hydrolysis and higher antioxidant capacity. The conditions selected as the most suitable were: temperature of 75 °C, pH of 9.0 and E/S ratio of 0.1%. The hydrolysates produced at these conditions were also evaluated for total amino acid content and electrophoretic profile, showing a suitable amount of essential amino acids that covers the recommended daily needs.