Process optimization by response surface methodology for microencapsulation of pomegranate seed oil

摘要

Pomegranate seed oil (PSO) has many health benefits due to the presence of bioactivecompounds. However, higher amount of unsaturated fatty acids makes itvulnerable to oxidative deterioration. The present study focuses on optimizing microencapsulationprocess for quality retention of PSO using Box-Behnkendesignof response surface methodology. The alginate concentration and oil loading significantlyaffected the encapsulation efficiency (EE) and loading capacity (LC). Thesize, shape, and strength of the microsphere were significantly affected by the alginateconcentration, oil loading, and nozzle size. Oil loading (10%), nozzle diameter(350 μm), and alginate concentration (3.23%) were optimum process conditions withresultant EE (78.03%), LC (7.83%), equivalent diameter (30.05 μm), sphericity factor(0.039), and rupture force (30.20 N). The encapsulation could reduce the increase inperoxide value (PV) and acid value (AV) by 61.45% and 48.32%, respectively, and thedecrease in iodine value (IV) by 46.06% over nonencapsulated PSO during storage.