(464c) Microencapsulation of Blackberry Antioxidants. Modeling and Simulation

Blackberry (Rubus glaucus benth ) is an exotic tropical fruit that have gain significant acceptability and interest due to its sensorial characteristics and its potential desired impact on human health. The latter has been attributed to its high content of  natural antioxidants, phenolic compounds and anthocyanins [1].In 2012 100,953 tonnes of blacberry were produced in Colombia on 11.53 ha[3]. The fruit is sensitive and perishable and is characterized by high respiration rate that collective render it highly perishable with a limited market shelf life [2]. The bioactive compounds in the blackberry have poor stability and are known to be adversely affected by physical and chemical factors as temperature, pH, light and solvents. Encapsulation by spray drying of these compounds may offer opportunity to protect them against deterioration and thus enhance their shelf stability.Microencapsulation by spray drying is the most commonly utilized encapsulation method in food applications and in addition to provide the encapsulated core with protection it allows transforming liquid ingredients into free flowing powder. Th e objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of microencapsulation by spray drying of blackberry extract, at different conditions, on the antioxidant activity and phenolic content of this core. Maltodextrin DE 20 (6% w/w) served as a model wall system and the core consisted of blackberry extract obtained by superciritical extraction with carbon dioxide. The extraction was carried out at 45ºC and 150 bar. Microencapsulation was carried out using the Buchi mini spray dryer B-19 at inlet air temperature of 145ºC or 165ºC. Core was incorporated into the wall solution at a proportion of 1:1 (w/w).

The spray dried extract powders were analysed for moisture content (AOAC method, 1996), activity antioxidant (Scavenging effect on DPPH radical) and the phenol content (Folin - Ciocalteau). Results demonstrated that the higher temperature produce powder with a lower moisture content. The process of extraction and microencapsulation were modeling and simulated using the commercial package Aspen Plus V8.0 (Aspen Technology, Inc., USA). The capital and operating cost were calculated using the software Aspen Economic Analyzer V8.0 (Aspen technologies, Inc., USA). The use of Maltodextrin as carrier improved the handling of the antioxidant extract, however,  the antioxidant content and antioxidant activities of the encapsulates compoundts were lower than those in an non-encapsulated extract. The modeling and simulation process allowed establishing understanding about the economic aspect of the process. This understanding provides a useful tool that can be utilized in assessing different methodologies for stabilization of fruit-derived biologically active metabolites.

Keyword: Antioxidant activity, phenol content, extract blackberry antioxidant, supercritical fluid, spray drying, Maltodextin.

References

[1]       C. C. Ferrari, S. P. M. Germer, and J. M. de Aguirre, “Effects of Spray-Drying Conditions on the Physicochemical Properties of Blackberry Powder,” Dry. Technol., vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 154–163, Feb. 2012.

[2]       Agronet, Sistema de estadisticas agropercuarias - SEA, 2014. [Online]. Available: http://www.agronet.gov.co/agronetweb1/Estadísticas.aspx. [Accessed: 22-Apr-2014].

[3]       S. Gorinstein, S. Poovarodom, H. Leontowicz, M. Leontowicz, J. Namiesnik, S. Vearasilp, R. Haruenkit, P. Ruamsuke, E. Katrich, and Z. Tashma, “Antioxidant properties and bioactive constituents of some rare exotic Thai fruits and comparison with conventional fruits,” Food Res. Int., vol. 44, no. 7, pp. 2222–2232, Aug. 2011.