Effect of feed preparation on the properties and stability of ascorbic acid microparticles produced by spray chilling

Cellulose Acetate Microparticles Synthesized from Agave sisalana Perrine for Controlled Release of Simvastatin

Simvastatin (SIM) is widely prescribed to treat hyperlipidemia, despite its limitations, such as a short half-life and low oral bioavailability. To overcome these drawbacks, the development of a controlled-release formulation is desirable. This study aims to develop a microparticulate system based on cellulose acetate (ACT) obtained from Agave sisalana Perrine to promote a controlled SIM release. SIM-loaded microparticles (SMP) were prepared using the solvent emulsification-evaporation method. Several parameters were evaluated, including particle size, surface charge, morphology, encapsulation efficiency, thermochemical characteristics, crystallinity, and in vitro release profile. ACT exhibited favorable flow properties after acetylation, with a degree of substitution values superior to 2.5, as confirmed by both the chemical route and H-NMR, indicating the formation of cellulose triacetate. The obtained SMP were spherical with an average size ranging from 1842 to 1857 nm, a zeta potential of -4.45 mV, and a high SIM incorporation efficiency (98%). Thermal and XRD analyses revealed that SIM was homogeneously dispersed into the polymeric matrix in its amorphous state. In vitro studies using dialysis bags revealed that the controlled SIM release from microparticles was higher under simulated intestinal conditions and followed the Higuchi kinetic model. Our results suggest that ACT-based microparticles are a promising system for SIM delivery, which can improve its bioavailability, and result in better patient compliance.

Microencapsulation of vitamins: A review and meta-analysis of coating materials, release and food fortification

Vitamins are responsible for providing biological properties to the human body; however, their instability under certain environmental conditions limits their utilization in the food industry. The objective was to conduct a systematic review on the use of biopolymers and lipid bases in microencapsulation processes, assessing their impact on the stability, controlled release, and viability of fortified foods with microencapsulated vitamins. The literature search was conducted between the years 2013-2023, gathering information from databases such as Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science and publishers including Taylor & Francis, Elsevier, Springer and MDPI; a total of 49 articles were compiled The results were classified according to the microencapsulation method, considering the following information: core, coating material, solvent, formulation, process conditions, particle size, efficiency, yield, bioavailability, bioaccessibility, in vitro release, correlation coefficient and references. It has been evidenced that gums are the most frequently employed coatings in the protection of vitamins (14.04%), followed by alginate (10.53%), modified chitosan (9.65%), whey protein (8.77%), lipid bases (8.77%), chitosan (7.89%), modified starch (7.89%), starch (7.02%), gelatin (6.14%), maltodextrin (5.26%), zein (3.51%), pectin (2.63%) and other materials (7.89%). The factors influencing the release of vitamins include pH, modification of the coating material and crosslinking agents; additionally, it was determined that the most fitting mathematical model for release values is Weibull, followed by Zero Order, Higuchi and Korsmeyer-Peppas; finally, foods commonly fortified with microencapsulated vitamins were described, with yogurt, bakery products and gummy candies being notable examples.

Microstructured lipid microparticles containing anthocyanins: Production, characterization, storage, and resistance to the gastrointestinal tract

Anthocyanins from grape peel extract have several biological properties and can act as a natural colorant and antioxidant agent. However, these compounds are susceptible to degradation by light, oxygen, temperature, and the gastrointestinal tract. Thus, this study produced microstructured lipid microparticles (MLMs) containing anthocyanins by the spray chilling technique and evaluated the particle stability. trans-free fully hydrogenated palm oil (FHPO) and palm oil (PO) were used as encapsulating materials in the ratios 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, and 50:50, respectively. The concentration of grape peel extract was 40 % (w/w) in relation to the encapsulating materials. The microparticles were evaluated for thermal behavior by DSC, polymorphism, FTIR, size distribution and particle diameter, bulk density, tapped density, flow properties, morphology, phenolic compounds content, antioxidant capacity, and retention of anthocyanins. Furthermore, the storage stability of the microparticles was investigated at different temperatures (-18, 4, and 25 °C), and the anthocyanins retention capacity, kinetic parameters (half-life time and degradation constant rate), total color difference, and visual aspects were evaluated during 90 days of storage. The resistance of MLMs to the gastrointestinal tract was also evaluated. In general, higher FHPO concentrations increased the thermal resistance of the MLMs and both showed defined peaks of β' and β forms. The FTIR analysis showed that the MLMs preserved the original forms of their constituent materials even after atomization, with interactions between them. The increase in the PO concentration directly affected the increased mean particle diameter, agglomeration, and cohesiveness, as well as lower bulk density, tapped density, and flowability. The retention of anthocyanins in MLMs ranged from 81.5 to 61.3 % and was influenced by the particle size, with a better result observed for the treatment MLM_90:10. The same behavior was observed for the phenolic compounds content (1443.1-1247.2 mg GAE/100 g) and antioxidant capacity (1739.8-1660.6 mg TEAC/100 g). During the storage, MLMs made with FHPO to PO ratios of 80:20, 70:30, and 60:40 showed the highest stability for anthocyanin retention and color changes at the three temperatures (- 18 °C, 4 °C, and 25 °C). The gastrointestinal simulation in vitro revealed that all treatments were resistant to gastric phase and maintained a maximum and controlled release in the intestinal phase, demonstrating that FHPO together with PO are effective to protect anthocyanins during gastric digestion, and can improve the bioavailability of this compound in the human organism. Thus, the spray chilling technique may be a promising alternative for the production of anthocyanins-loaded microstructured lipid microparticles with functional properties for various technological applications.

Comparative Study of Cinnamon and Paprika Oleoresins Encapsulated by Spray Chilling and Particles from Gas Saturated Solutions Techniques: Evaluation of Physical Characteristics and Oleoresins Release in Food Simulated Media

In this study, cinnamon and paprika oleoresins were encapsulated by two technologies, respectively, spray chilling and particles from gas saturated solutions. Both technologies used palm oil as wall materials. The physical characteristics of the microparticles were compared as well as the oleoresins release behavior in high- and low-fat simulated food media. The spray chilling microparticles had an average diameter of 143.7 ± 1.5 µm, spherical shape, smooth surface, and passable flow property. In contrast, microparticles obtained by particles from gas saturated solutions (PGSS) showed an average diameter of 105.7 ± 0.6 µm, irregular shape, porous surface, poor flow property but higher encapsulation efficiency. In evaluating the compounds released in a simulated food medium, the spray chilling particles delivered 30.7%, while PGSS reached 23.1% after 1 h. Both microparticles well fitted the Kosmeyer-Peppas (R2 = 0.98 and 0.96 for spray chilling and PGSS) and Peppas-Sahlin models (R2 = 0.98 and 0.97 for spray chilling and PGSS). However, spray chilling microparticles showed a diffusion mechanism, while for PGSS ones erosion was the main mechanism. Despite the different physical characteristics, both microparticles proved to be possible facilitators in delivering oleoresins in food products.

Combination of Spray-Chilling and Spray-Drying Techniques to Protect Carotenoid-Rich Extracts from Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) Byproducts, Aiming at the Production of a Powdered Natural Food Dye

Reducing waste, using byproducts, and natural food additives are important sustainability trends. In this context, the aim of this study was to produce and evaluate a natural food dye, extracted from pumpkin byproducts, powdered and protected by spray-chilling (SC) and a combination of spray-drying and spray-chilling techniques (SDC). The extract was obtained using ethanol as solvent; vegetable fat and gum Arabic were used as carriers. Formulations were prepared with the following core:carrier ratios: SC 20 (20:80), SC 30 (30:70), SC 40 (40:60), SDC 5 (5:95), SDC 10 (10:90), and SDC 15 (15:85). The physicochemical properties of the formed microparticles were characterised, and their storage stability was evaluated over 90 days. The microparticles exhibited colour variation and size increase over time. SDC particles exhibited the highest encapsulation efficiency (95.2-100.8%) and retention of carotenoids in the storage period (60.8-89.7%). Considering the carotenoid content and its stability, the optimal formulation for each process was selected for further analysis. All of the processes and formulations produced spherical particles that were heterogeneous in size. SDC particles exhibited the highest oxidative stability index and the highest carotenoid release in the intestinal phase (32.6%). The use of combined microencapsulation technologies should be considered promising to protect carotenoid compounds.

Microencapsulation by spray chilling in the food industry: Opportunities, challenges, and innovations

Background

The increasing demand for healthy eating habits and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a health crisis and global economic slowdown, has led to the consumption of functional and practical foods. Bioactive ingredients can be an alternative for healthy food choices; however, most functional compounds are sensitive to the adverse conditions of processing and digestive tract, impairing its use in food matrices, and industrial-scale applications. Microencapsulation by spray chilling can be a viable alternative to reduce these barriers in food processing.

Scope and approach

This review discusses the use of spray chilling technique for microencapsulation of bioactive food ingredients. Although this technology is known in the pharmaceutical industry, it has been little exploited in the food sector. General aspects of spray chilling, the process parameters, advantages, and disadvantages are addressed. The feasibility and stability of encapsulated bioactive ingredients in food matrices and the bioavailability in vitro of solid lipid microparticles produced by spray chilling are also discussed.

Main findings and conclusions

Research on the microencapsulation of bioactive ingredients by spray chilling for use in foods has shown the effectiveness of this technique to encapsulate bioactive compounds for application in food matrices. Solid microparticles produced by spray chilling can improve the stability and bioavailability of bioactive ingredients. However, further studies are required, including the use of lipid-based encapsulating agents, process parameters, and novel formulations for application in food, beverages, and packaging, as well as in vivo studies to prove the effectiveness of the formulations.

Maillard conjugates from spent brewer's yeast by-product as an innovative encapsulating material

Yeast-based by-products are greatly available, have a rich nutritional composition and functional properties. The spent brewer's yeast (SBY) cells after enzymatic hydrolysis may be a sustainable and low-cost alternative as carrier material for encapsulation processes by spray drying. Our work had as main purpose to characterise the hydrolysed SBY cell debris after the Maillard reaction and to study their potential as a microencapsulation wall material. SBY-based Maillard reaction products (MRPs) were used to encapsulate ascorbic acid (AA) by spray drying. The Maillard Reaction was able to improve the solubility of solids and proteins by 15% and promoted brown color development (230% higher Browning Index). SBY-based MRPs resulted in particles of a high encapsulation yield of AA (101.90 ± 5.5%), a moisture content of about 3.4%, water activity of 0.15, hygroscopicity values ranging from 13.8 to 19.3 g_H2O/100 g and a glass transition temperature around 71 °C. The shape and microstructure of the produced particles were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (MEV), indicating very similar structure for control and AA encapsulated particles. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) results confirmed the presence of yeast cell debris in the surface of particles. Ascorbic acid was successfully encapsulated in Maillard conjugates of hydrolyzsd yeast cell debris of Saccharomyces pastorianus and maltodextrin as confirmed by optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, MEV and FT-IR.

Improving stability of vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin) using microencapsulation by spray chilling technique

Vitamin-B12 or cyanocobalamin is an essential micronutrient, so it must be supplied by diet. However, vitamin-B12 is found just in foods derived from animals and it is sensitive of many factors. Due to the unrelenting increase of people with deficiency in vitamin-B12 and easy degradation of this vitamin when subjected to adverse conditions, the aim of this research was to produce solid lipid microparticles (SLM) loaded with vitamin-B12 using the spray chilling technique. It was produced 6 SLM (with 0.1 and 1% vitamin and 0, 2.5 and 5% of lecithin) that were analyzed for optical and scanning electron microscopy, size and particles size distribution, water activity, instrumental color, X-ray diffraction, yield and encapsulation efficiency, release profile, besides free and encapsulated vitamin stability for 120 days. It was reported that the SLM presented a spherical shape and smooth surfaces, medium size values varying from 13.28 to 26.99 μm. The yield and encapsulation efficiency values within the range of 80.7 to 99.7% and from 76.7 to 101.1%, respectively. The encapsulation promoted better protection of vitamin-B12 (>91.1% for all formulations after 120 days of storage) when compared to the free one (75.2%). In addition, it was observed a good effect of the presence of soya lecithin in formulations; it promoted a more controlled release of vitamin-B12 in fluids and also shown better stability results. The spray chilling encapsulation technique proved to be a promising alternative, since it protected vitamin-B12 without the necessity of using high temperatures or organic solvents to encapsulate it, besides having a low cost.

Microencapsulation of green tea polyphenols by ionic gelation and spray chilling methods

The consumption of teas has been increasing with the dissemination of information regarding the health benefits of its constituents. Obtaining food products with healthier profiles is already a reality for industry with the increasing development of new functional ingredients, including the use of tea and its derivatives (extracts). This work aimed to evaluate the encapsulation of green tea extract powder in lipid microparticles (LMP) by the spray chilling method and in ionic gelation microparticles (IGMP) by the ionic gelation method to obtain polyphenol-rich water insoluble components. Microparticles were adequately obtained in both methods, with typical physical characteristics consistent with the results in literature results, 83.5 ± 2.8% encapsulation efficiency for LMP and 72.6 ± 0.4% for IGMP, and antioxidant activity (IC50 μg/mL) of 33,169.4 ± 123.8 (IGMP) and 2099.7 ± 35.3 (LMP). The microparticles samples were considered suitable as ingredients for add polyphenols in foods.

Spray-chilling encapsulation of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline zinc chloride complex using hydrophobic materials: Feasibility and characterization of microcapsules

A moisture-sensitive 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline zinc chloride complex (2AP-ZnCl₂) was successfully encapsulated by spray-chilling, using a hydrophobic moisture barrier as a practical way to protect the complex and to help facilitate its general use in food applications. Use of octacosane as wall material provided a flavor retention of 65.3%. The results from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray micro-computed tomography (X-ray micro-CT) indicated desirable morphological characteristics of the matrix type microcapsules. Gas chromatography (GC) and absorbance spectroscopy were used for chemical quantitation of 2AP and ZnCl₂, respectively, in the microcapsules. Results revealed no degradation of 2AP occurred as a result of the encapsulation process. This study is the first to demonstrate the feasibility of producing high quality microcapsules from labile flavor complexes by spray-chilling. The use of generally recognized as safe (GRAS) substances, including 2AP and ZnCl₂, may allow for widespread commercial use of 2AP as a flavor ingredient.

Preparation, characterization and in vitro release of β-galactosidase loaded polyelectrolyte nanoparticles

Improving encapsulation efficacy (EE) and bioavailability of β-galactosidase (β-gal) is always a challenge due to its fragility. In this work, β-gal loaded β-chitosan (CS) nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully prepared based on ionic gelation technique and electrostatic attraction for improving its EE and in vitro releasing capacity. The particle size of β-gal loaded low and high molecular weight (LMW and HMW) β-CS NPs reached 584.37 and 652.46nm, with Zeta-potential (ZP) of 26.37 and 16.46mV under the optimal conditions, respectively. In vitro release study conducted at pH4.5 and 7.4 showed that β-gal loaded LMW and HMW β-CS NPs with EE of 68.32 and 58.64% sustained the release of the β-gal over 12h. The β-gal incorporated into β-CS NPs was confirmed with the results of physicochemical and structural properties of β-gal loaded β-CS NPs, and prepared NPs had hardly any cytotoxicity in the range of 0.1-1.0mg/mL. The results indicated that β-gal loaded β-CS NPs could serve as non-toxic delivery carriers for the treatment of lactose intolerance.

Xyloglucan from Hymenaea courbaril var. courbaril seeds as encapsulating agent of l-ascorbic acid

This study evaluated the l-ascorbic acid (AA) encapsulation in microparticles of xyloglucan (XAA) extracted from Hymenaea courbaril seeds by spray drying (SD) and its application in tilapia fish burgers. The encapsulation efficiency was 96.34±1.6% and the retention of the antioxidant activity was of 89.48±0.88% after 60days at 25°C. SEM images showed microspheres with diameters ranging from 4.4 to 34.0μm. FTIR spectrum confirmed the presence of AA in xyloglucan microparticles, which was corroborated by DSC and TGA. The release of ascorbic acid was found to be pH-dependent. The application of XAA in tilapia fish burger did not change the pH after heating and the ascorbic acid retention was greater compared to its free form. The results indicate that xyloglucan can be used to encapsulate AA by SD and suggest that XAA was able to reduce undesirable organoleptic changes in fish burgers.