Influence of Different Wall Materials on the Microencapsulation of Virgin Coconut Oil by Spray Drying

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the different wall material combinations on the microencapsulation of virgin coconut oil (VCO) by spray drying. Maltodextrin (MD) and sodium caseinate (SC) were used as the basic wall materials and mixed with gum Arabic (GA), whey protein concentrate (WPC) and gelatin (G). The stability, viscosity and droplet size of the feed emulsions were measured. MD:SC showed the best encapsulation efficiency (80.51%) and oxidative stability while MD:SC:GA presented the lowest encapsulation efficiency (62.93%) but better oxidative stability than the other two combinations. Microcapsules produced were sphere in shape with no apparent fissures and cracks, low moisture content (2.35-2.85%) and high bulk density (0.23-0.29 g/cm(3)). All the particles showed relatively low peroxide value (0.34-0.82 meq peroxide/kg of oil) and good oxidative stability during storage. MD:SC:GA microencapsulated VCO had the highest antioxidant activity in both of the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) (0.22 mmol butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)/kg of oil) and 2,2-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assays (1.35 mmol trolox/kg of oil).