Retention of saffron bioactive components by spray drying encapsulation using maltodextrin, gum Arabic and gelatin as wall materials

Saffron as the world's most expensive spice is very sensitive and loses its active compounds in exposure to environmental conditions. In this work, microencapsulation of saffron extract by various biopolymers was studied as an effective way to preserve its active compounds. Emulsions with a constant ratio of saffron extract/wall material of 1:20 and two levels of total solids (TS of 30 and 40%), were prepared using a homogenizer, and then spray dried. Powders were characterized in terms of powder yield, encapsulation efficiency, and retention of saffron active components, microstructure, and moisture content. Retention of picrocrocin, safranal and crocin after spray drying was analyzed by measuring absorbance at 257, 330 and 440 nm, respectively. It was observed that a mixture with 40% TS consisting of maltodextrin, gum Arabic and gelatin in the weight ratio of 0.94:0.05:0.01 retained the highest amount of picrocrocin, safranal and crocin, by retention values of 90.06, 80.37, and 91.03%, respectively. Both encapsulation efficiency and powder yield were positively influenced by total solids content, which could be related to the emulsion viscosity and droplet size. To conclude, a mixture of maltodextrin, gum Arabic and gelatin was efficient for saffron extract encapsulation by spray drying. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.