Ultrasound assisted encapsulation of peppermint flavor in gum Arabic: Study of process parameters

In the present study, ultrasound assisted encapsulation of peppermint flavor (core material) in gum Arabic (GA; wall material) was carried out in the presence of Tween 80 surfactant. It is well known that the intense environment generated due to cavity collapse in the presence of ultrasonic irradiations help in the preparation of fine emulsion which enhances the encapsulation efficiency of flavor. In this work, the use of ultrasound during encapsulation of peppermint flavor in GA, enhances the encapsulation efficiency to 87%. The effect of various parameters such as flavor concentration, GA concentration, and inlet temperature and feed rate during spray drying on encapsulation efficiency, product yield and particle size was studied. Also, the encapsulation of peppermint flavor in GA was confirmed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. The particles size of obtained nanoparticles after spray drying is in the range of 45.2-255.7 nm. This encapsulation process is believed to enhance the shelf life and stability of flavors that may be protected from outside environment by reducing its reactivity. Practical applications Components of the peppermint flavor are first of all mono and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and their oxygenated derivatives, and also phenylpropanoids. These are volatile substances sensitive to oxygen, light, moisture, and heat. Stability and shelf life of peppermint flavor will be lower when it is in liquid state because it is very sensitive to outside environment. This ultrasound assisted encapsulation process improves the processing time and encapsulation efficiency in lesser time which improves its stability and shelf life. Upon investigation of effect of direct exposure of peppermint oil to acoustic cavitation with bath and probe type and obtained FTIR patterns, its properties were found to be unaffected with acoustic cavitation. Further, in the present work, the effect of ultrasonication is little after encapsulation of peppermint flavor in gum Arabic wall material. Further the produced encapsulated materials are having uniform particle size distribution which can be prepared at industrial scale.