Microencapsulation Of Bioactive Compounds From Cornelian Cherry Fruits Using Different Biopolymers With Soy Proteins

Several encapsulation variants to deliver the anthocyanins from cornelian cherry fruits, using soy proteins alone or in combination with maltodextrin and freeze-drying or spray-drying, were studied. The resulting powders were characterized in terms of flow properties, encapsulation retention and efficiency, color, bioavailability of anthocyanins with simulated gastrointestinal conditions, particles microstructure, and stability during storage. The highest encapsulation efficiency was obtained when using soy proteins-maltodextrin biopolymeric systems with spray-drying. The in vitro studies showed that the best protection was delivered when using a mixture of coating materials, allowing a controlled release of the anthocyanins in the intestinal environment. The powder obtained by spray-drying had nearly perfect spherosomes, in which the anthocyanins were retained as droplets coated by fine membranes. Anthocyanins are best protected during storage at 8 degrees C and low a(w) values. This study showed that the microencapsulation of cornelian cherry anthocyanins using spray-drying is more effective than freeze-drying and can be used to develop new functional foods and supplements.