Characteristic of microencapsulated 1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoylglycerol and its application in infant formula powder

Abstract

ABSTRACT1,3-Dioleoyl-2-palmitoylglycerol (OPO) is used widely as a food additive. However, the structured lipid is sensitive to oxygen and light in the production process. This results in the loss of its original nutrition and production of harmful substances. In this study, the OPO was microencapsulated using whey protein isolate and maltodextrin as the wall material and monostearin as an emulsifier by spray-drying technology added to the infant formula milk, in order to improve its oxidative stability. The OPO microcapsules were released in vitro through the simulated gastrointestinal tract; sensory evaluation of microencapsulated OPO in infant formula powder and nutrition absorption of microencapsulated OPO in infant formula power by animal experiments were investigated. The results showed that OPO microcapsules have a slow-release effect; after 2 h of simulated gastric fluid digestion, only 16.1 ± 3.2% of the oil was released from microencapsulated OPO, and after another 2 h of simulated intestinal fluid digestion, there was 92.3 ± 2.8% of oil released from the microencapsulated OPO. The infant formula with microencapsulated OPO has a uniform colour and no odour. The quality of infant formula with microencapsulated OPO was obviously better than infant formula with OPO by storage test. Everted mice gut sac experiments confirmed that microencapsulation did not affect absorption of mice to OPO in infant formula and prevented the loss of calcium. The study confirmed that addition of microencapsulated OPO makes infant formula more efficient for product quality and nutrition absorption.