SPRAY DRYING MICROENCAPSULATION OF CAROTENOID-RICH OIL FROM TUCUMÃ PULP (Astrocaryum vulgare Mart)

Tucumã oil (Astrocaryum vulgare Mart) is a great source of carotenoids, mainly beta-carotene, which possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antihyperglycemic activities, but it is easily oxidized in the presence of heat, light, oxygen and pro-oxidants. Encapsulation techniques, such as spray drying, are useful for protecting labile compounds against degradation. The aim of this work was to produce tucumã oil microparticles using spray drying technique. Emulsions containing 30% total solids content, composed of tucumã oil and arabic gum in the proportions 5%:95%, 10%:90%, 20%:80% and 30%:70%, were atomized in a spray dryer at 180°C (inlet air temperature). Process yield, moisture content, encapsulation efficiency, total carotenoids content and carotenoids retention in the microparticles after the drying process were determined for all treatments. Process yields of microparticles containing tucumã oil in the proportions 5%, 10%, 20% and 30% were 69.22%, 69.05%, 71.37% and 73.65%, respectively. These values are higher than those found in other studies in which oils were encapsulated by spray drying. Moisture content varied from 4.17 to 5.24%. Total carotenoids contents were 513.6 μg/g (pure oil); 23.0 μg/g (5% treatment); 43.7 μg/g (10% treatment); 88.9 μg/g (20% treatment); and 130.6 μg/g (30% treatment). Values of 95.0%, 90.3%, 70.7% and 44.4% were obtained for encapsulation efficiencies of the treatments 5%, 10%, 20% and 30%, respectively. This reduction was probably due to a decrease in the emulsifying capacity of arabic gum, as the oil proportion increased. Carotenoids retention ranged from 84.8 to 89.7%, indicating that a small amount of carotenoids was lost in all treatments during the drying process. These results show that a simple and low cost encapsulation method was efficient on producing particles with minimal losses of bioactive compounds, revealing the potential of tucumã oil microparticles for application in foodstuff, as a functional ingredient with high carotenoids content.