22-7

I. ABOU-NEMEH and C. Jaundoo. Technology, Roquette America, Inc., 1417 Exchange Street, Keokuk, IA 52632

Encapsulation of flavors, fragrances, vitamins and other essential nutrients by modified starches, maltodextrins and gum arabic exhibits many drawbacks and deficiencies, such as poor protection against oxidation, and thus, short shelf life of expensive and benign solutes. It is believed that the specific carbohydrate profile, its composition and the film forming ability play a paramount role in determining the efficiency of encapsulation and the shelf life of encapsulate. We developed a novel liquid encapsulating agent with a unique carbohydrate profile which proved to be superior in its performance to known and currently used industrial encapsulants.

This study’s objective was to reveal the multidimensional advantages of the novel encapsulating agent in performance and processing versus commonly used carriers.

A series of experimental trials was carried out using diverse and commonly used carriers versus the novel liquid encapsulating agent. The trials were focused on spray drying the emulsion made with the carrier and flavor oil; the light scattering technique was employed to study emulsion stability and size distribution of suspended oil droplets; hydrodistallation and oil extraction were applied to analyze oil retention and surface oil; scanning electron microscopy was extensively used to study powder surface morphology and structure.

The results revealed that the novel liquid encapsulating agent showed high level of oil encapsulation and efficiency with lowest surface oil and moisture level of the spray-dried final product compared to commonly used conventional polysaccharides and modified starches. The stability study of the encapsulant showed an outstanding encapsulate chemical and physical stability against oxidation, and thus, longer shelf life.

The significance of the novel encapsulating agent lies in its performance as an excellent encapsulant and stabilizer for flavors, vitamins etc. and its low viscosity makes it a very attractive carrier for high solids loading, and thus, higher throughput and efficiency in spray-drying or extrusion.