Use of Electrosprayed Agave Fructans as Nanoencapsulating Hydrocolloids for Bioactives.

Jorge Ramos-Hernández,Juan Ragazzo-Sánchez,Montserrat Calderón-Santoyo,Cristina Prieto,Rosa Ortiz-Basurto,Jose Lagaron

doi:10.3390/nano8110868

Abstract

High degree of polymerization Agave fructans (HDPAF) are presented as a novel encapsulating material. Electrospraying coating (EC) was selected as the encapsulation technique and β-carotene as the model bioactive compound. For direct electrospraying, two encapsulation methodologies (solution and emulsion) were proposed to find the formulation which provided a suitable particle morphology and an adequate concentration of β-carotene encapsulated in the particles to provide a protective effect of β-carotene by the nanocapsules. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed spherical particles with sizes ranging from 440 nm to 880 nm depending on the concentration of HDPAF and processing parameters. FTIR analysis confirmed the interaction and encapsulation of β-carotene with HDPAF. The thermal stability of β-carotene encapsulated in HDPAF was evidenced by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The study showed that β-carotene encapsulated in HDPAF by the EC method remained stable for up to 50 h of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. Therefore, HDPAF is a viable option to formulate nanocapsules as a new encapsulating material. In addition, EC allowed for increases in the ratio of β-carotene:polymer, as well as its photostability.

Highlights

Fructans from Agave tequilana consist of a complex mixture of fructooligosaccharides (fructose polymer obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of high polymerization degree Agave fructans (HDPAF) by fructan exohydrolase (FEH) and 1-fructosyl transferase (1-FFT enzymes) containing principally β-(2→1) fructosyl–fructose linkages, and β-(2→6) and branch moieties) [1,2]
The high degree of polymerization (DP) (>40 fructose units, Mw = 3259.95 ± 181.75 g/mol) fraction can be used as a fat substitute in low-fat or reduced-fat products since it is less soluble, more viscous and more thermostable than native fructans, which allows for modification of the rheological and sensorial properties of dairy products
The successful development of encapsulation structures using electrospraying technology strongly depends on the solution properties and, an initial characterization of solution viscosity and viscoelasticity was carried out

Summary

Introduction

Fructans from Agave tequilana consist of a complex mixture of fructooligosaccharides (fructose polymer obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of high polymerization degree Agave fructans (HDPAF) by fructan exohydrolase (FEH) and 1-fructosyl transferase (1-FFT enzymes) containing principally β-(2→1) fructosyl–fructose linkages, and β-(2→6) and branch moieties) [1,2]. The high DP (>40 fructose units, Mw = 3259.95 ± 181.75 g/mol) fraction can be used as a fat substitute in low-fat or reduced-fat products (i.e., baking, ice-cream, beverages and yoghurt) since it is less soluble, more viscous and more thermostable than native fructans, which allows for modification of the rheological and sensorial properties of dairy products. In this case, fructans act as a filler or as a breaker of structure in the same way as fat globules do [1,3,4]. Furlán et al [5] evaluated high, medium and low polymerization degree

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