Microencapsulation of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Pomace Ethanolic Extract by Spray Drying: Optimization of Process Conditions

Abstract

Microencapsulation by spray-drying is a process used in the stabilization of active compounds from various natural sources, such as tomato by-products, with the purpose to be used as additives in the food industry. The aim of this work was to study the effects of wall material and spray drying conditions on physicochemical properties of microcapsules loaded with lycopene rich extract from tomato pomace. The assays were carried out with ethanolic tomato pomace extract as core material and arabic gum or inulin as wall materials. A central composite rotatable design was used to evaluate the effect of drying air inlet temperature (110-200 • C) and concentration of arabic gum (5-35 wt %) or inulin (5-25 wt %) on the antioxidant activity, encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity, and drying yield. SEM images showed that the produced particles were in the category of skin-forming structures. The most suitable conditions, within the ranges studied, to obtain lycopene loaded microparticles were a biopolymer concentration of 10 wt % for both materials and an inlet temperature of 200 and 160 • C for arabic gum and inulin, respectively. Arabic gum and inulin possessed a good performance in the encapsulation of tomato pomace extract by spray drying. It is envisaged that the capsules produced have good potential to be incorporated in foods systems with diverse chemical and physical properties.

Antioxidants of Natural Plant Origins: From Sources to Food Industry Applications

“…Along those lines, by-products of fruit and legume processing can be a source of functional compounds, such as apple pomace that has shown to be a good source of polyphenols, especially the peel [70]; grape pomace for its rich composition in anthocyanins, catechins, flavanols, phenolic acids and stilbenes [71]; tomato pomace rich in lycopene and other carotenoids [72]; and olive pomace rich in phenolic compounds [73]. Pomegranate is an example of a fruit extremely rich in antioxidants, mainly polyphenols, present in its edible and non-edible parts.…”

“…The most common process used is spray drying, due to its low cost, easy scale-up and applicability with a wide range of core and wall materials, delivering the encapsulated materials as a powder with particles generally a few micrometers in size. It has been used, for example, to encapsulate phenolic compounds from spent espresso coffee [110]; olive leaf extracts [138]; citrus by-product extracts [139]; apple fruit peel [140]; pigments from wine by-products [141]; carotenoids from tomato pomace [72]; essential oils from herbs, such as oregano [142,143,144], and lavender [145]; and vitamins [146].…”

Microencapsulation of Pineapple Peel Extract by Spray Drying Using Maltodextrin, Inulin, and Arabic Gum as Wall Matrices

“…Microencapsulation is a methodology widely studied for the stabilization of valuable compounds extracted from natural resources (e.g., agroindustry wastes) such as vitamins, pigments, flavors, and antioxidants, and their release into food products [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. The microencapsulation process consists of the production of structures, in most cases particles, in which the bioactive compound in the solid, liquid, or gas phase (the core material) is entrapped in one or more classes of wall materials that form a protective barrier [ 8 ].…”

Design and Development of Spray-Dried Microsystems to Improve Technological and Functional Properties of Bioactive Compounds from Hazelnut Shells

“…More than 45 pilot experiments (blank and loaded powders, Table 1) were carried out to find the optimum of liquid feed in terms of polymer concentrations and weight polymer ratios with respect to the process yields, loading ability, and resultant powders technological characteristics. As an example, only three batches (3,9,12) of blank powders and two batches of loaded (13,15) ones have been selected, discussed in the text, and reported in the Table 1 as demonstrative samples of the taken experimental steps. Additional information was included in the Supplementary Materials.…”

“…These critical features could limit the real use of natural polyphenol derivatives as therapeutic/nutraceutical agent, negatively affecting the absorption process, the bioavailability after the intake, the handling, and the storage during the industrial scale use [11]. Moreover, the potential phytochemicals degradation process over time may reduce the active ingredient content and, consequently, the functional value of the plant extract [10,12,13]. In the present research, a particle engineering approach, involving the production of microparticles by spray drying technique, is proposed to overcome the stability and bioavailability problems, converting the raw HSE in a powder, suitable for the final administration in various dosage forms (mainly oral or topical ones) as an active ingredient [14,15].…”