Fatty Acids Profile of Chia Oil-Loaded Lipid Microparticles

Abstract

-Encapsulation of poly unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) is known to be an alternative to increase its stability during processing and storage. Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) oil has raised interest as a reliable source of both omega-3 and omega-6 but its encapsulation must be better evaluated. In this work, chia oil was extracted and encapsulated in stearic acid microparticles by the hot homogenization technique. UV-Vis spectroscopy coupled with Multivariate Curve Resolution with Alternating Least-Squares methodology demonstrated that no oil degradation or tocopherol loss was expected to occur during the encapsulation procedure. After lyophilization, the fat acids profile of the oil loaded microparticles was determined by gas chromatography and compared to that of the in natura oil. Both omega-3 and omega-6 were effectively encapsulated keeping the same omega-3:omega-6 ratio presented in the in natura oil.