Microencapsulation of ghee flavorants with whey protein concentrate and guar gum using spray drying

Abstract

Microencapsulation of ghee flavor extract (GFE) using emulsions of whey protein concentrate (WPC-80) (15% to 22% w/w) and guar gum (GG) (0.1% to 0.5% w/w) was investigated upon spray drying to produce low fat and cholesterol-free ghee flavor enriched powder. The effectiveness of the encapsulation was analyzed in terms of encapsulation efficiency (EE), solubility index (SI), and flavor retention (FR) of the encapsulated ghee flavorants. An emulsion with a combination of 15% GFE, 15.76% WPC-80, and 0.1% GG could achieve the maximum EE (53.2%), SI (81.464%), and FR of δ-dodecalactone (66.38%) and δ-tetradecalactone (78.33%). The mean particle size of the powder was 124.4 nm with a span value of 0.945. The Carr's index (CI) and Hausner ratio (HR) of the powder were 17.65% and 1.21, respectively, suggesting that the powder had good flowability. The microparticles were spherical and the glass transition temperature value ranged from 247.8 to 249.4°C. Practical applications Isolation and encapsulation of volatile flavor compounds (flavorants) from ghee—a fat-rich heat desiccated milk product—for the development of low fat and cholesterol-free food products would be a novel approach to provide the flavor of ghee to people who cannot consume it owing to health constraints. An understanding of both the functionality and flavor of the powder would help better use of the powder while developing food formulations. Besides, ghee flavorants such δ-dodecalactone and δ-tetradecalactone enriched powder would form a novel dairy ingredient in dairy, food, and pharmaceutical industries.