Kinetic Study of Encapsulated β-Carotene Degradation in Dried Systems: A Review.

Vera Lavelli,Jolanta Sereikaitė

doi:10.3390/foods11030437

Abstract

β-Carotene serves as a precursor of vitamin A and provides relevant health benefits. To overcome the low bioavailability of β-carotene from natural sources, technologies have been designed for its encapsulation in micro- and nano-structures followed by freeze-drying, spray-drying, supercritical fluid-enhanced dispersion and electrospraying. A technological challenge is also to increase β-carotene stability, since due to its multiple conjugated double bonds, it is particularly prone to oxidation. This review analyzes the stability of β-carotene encapsulated in different dried micro- and nano-structures by comparing rate constants and activation energies of degradation. The complex effect of water activity and glass transition temperature on degradation kinetics is also addressed, since the oxidation process is remarkably dependent on the glassy or collapsed state of the matrix. The approaches to improve β-carotene stability, such as the development of inclusion complexes, the improvement of the performance of the interface between air and oil phase in which β-carotene was dissolved by application of biopolymer combinations or functionalization of natural biopolymers, the addition of hydrophilic small molecular weight molecules that reduce air entrapped in the powder and the co-encapsulation of antioxidants of various polarities are discussed and compared, in order to provide a rational basis for further development of the encapsulation technologies.

Highlights

Vitamin A deficiency is a serious health problem especially in low and middle-income countries and affects approximately 33% of preschool-age children around the world
The pathway for β-carotene degradation was proposed to begin with a cis–trans isomerization that may take place at C9–10 or C13–14 or C15–15 and is followed by the rupture of the cis double bond, with the generation of a diradical molecule with an oxygen bound to just one carbon atom; a peroxide intramolecular cycle is formed that triggers the formation of apocarotenoids upon its rupture [17,18]
Freeze-drying is characterized by three steps: (a) freezing (b) primary drying that occurs below the triple point when ice is sublimated; and (c) secondary drying, when the remaining unfrozen/bound water is desorbed from the drier food matrix [39]

Summary

Introduction

Vitamin A deficiency is a serious health problem especially in low and middle-income countries and affects approximately 33% of preschool-age children around the world. The pathway for β-carotene degradation was proposed to begin with a cis–trans isomerization that may take place at C9–10 or C13–14 or C15–15 and is followed by the rupture of the cis double bond, with the generation of a diradical molecule with an oxygen bound to just one carbon atom; a peroxide intramolecular cycle is formed that triggers the formation of apocarotenoids upon its rupture [17,18]. Empirical models do not provide insight on the single steps but represent a straightforward and pragmatic approach to study β-carotene decay during food processing [17]. For β-carotene degradation, a first-order kinetics was most often found for the global process and the effect of temperature on the rate constant was found to follow the Arrhenius equation [17]

Methods

Results

Conclusion