MICROENCAPSULATION OF ACEROLA (Malpighia emarginata D.C.) AND CIRIGUELA (Spondias purpurea L.) MIXED PULP BY SPRAY DRYING

Due to new market trends, foods that can positively affect an individual's health conquer more space in the market. Many foods are added with bioactive compounds; however, these compounds are very susceptible to oxidative degradation. The objective of this work was to verify the best microencapsulation conditions by spray dryer of acerola (Malpighia emarginata DC) and ciriguela (Spondias purpurea L) mixed pulp (60:40, respectively), for preservation of bioactive compounds. The solutions were prepared with 30% total solids using maltodextrin 10DE as the wall material. For the encapsulation of the mixed pulp a factorial design 22 without a central point was performed, where the independent variables were the temperature (110 °C (-) and 170 °C (+)) and the filling content in relation to the total solids (15 % (-) and 30% (+)). Microcapsules were processed under the following conditions: 0.6 L / h liquid flow, 1.2 mm nozzle, 30 m3 / h air flow, 0.6 bar air pressure at the aforementioned temperatures. Dependent variables were: color, water activity, humidity, carotenoids and total phenolics. Processed samples with higher fill concentration, 30%, presented (p <0.05) lower L * values. Samples processed at 170 ° C had lower values of water activity (<0.100) and humidity (<0.1%) (p <0.05). Total carotenoids and phenolics values differed (p <0.05) between treatments. Total carotenoid contents ranged from 13.27 to 18.50 μg / g in the microcapsules. The highest values were found in the sample with the highest fill ratio. No influence of temperature on this variable was observed. Phenolic contents ranged from 257.67 to 1683.33 mg / 100 g after microencapsulation. A negative effect of temperature on phenolic values was found. The microcapsules produced with 30% filling at 110 °C presented the most satisfactory results, higher values of bioactive compounds under lighter processing conditions.