CHIA OIL (Salvia hispanica) MICROENCAPSULATION FOR ADDITION IN PROCESSED CHEESE

The components that make the food functional may be naturally present or may be added in order to modify the food to provide health benefits. Chia oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, mainly omega-3 (64.5-69.3%), and has bioactive compounds such as tocopherols, polyphenols, carotenoids and antioxidant potential. Due to these benefits, chia oil becomes an alternative to the addition of processed cheeses, allowing the replacement of part of saturated fat by unsaturated fat. However, chia oil is unstable to environmental factors such as temperature, light and oxygen, and it is necessary to be protected before being added to food, which can be accomplished through the microencapsulation technique. The aim of this work was to microencapsulate chia oil for addition to processed cheese. Chia oil microcapsules were obtained by the ionic gelling technique, using sodium alginate as a wall material crosslinked in calcium chloride. The method consisted in the formation of microcapsules with 100 mL of the sodium alginate solution (1.5%) with addition of oil in the following proportions: 1:1, 2:1 e 3:1 (oil: alginate solution). The mixtures were stirred for 30 min and afterwards were atomised in 200 mL of the calcium chloride solution (1.1%) using the nozzle extender Spray-dryer.Subsequently the microcapsules were shaken slightly by 30 min, then filtered, washed with distilled water and lyophilized. The encapsulation efficiency was tested in the proportions oil:sodium alginate in 1:1, 2:1 e 3:1. The microcapsules were evaluated for water solubility and subjected to thermal and particle diameter analysis. The encapsulation efficiency was of 94.37% in the 3:1 oil:alginate ratio. The microcapsules still presented low solubility in water (0.04%) and particle size of the microspheres of 195.2 μm. The microencapsulation promoted chia oil protection, making it more resistant to high temperatures.