Use of native agave fructans as stabilizers on physicochemical properties of spray-dried pineapple juice

Abstract

Native agave fructans have technological applications as sweeteners and stabilizers in powder form. The effect of two stabilizing additives for pineapple juice was studied through calorimetry and physicochemical tests such as water activity, moisture content, solubility, bulk density, adsorption, and desorption isotherms. The samples were prepared with 10% maltodextrin concentration, added with 0%, 2%, and 4% native agave fructans. The spray-drying process was carried out with an inlet temperature of 120 °C. The treatments with the fructans presented lower moisture content with respect to the treatment solely with maltodextrin. The stabilizing power that is shown is corroborated by the sorption isotherms, which showed a higher degree of hysteresis with the addition of fructans during storage. This implies that, despite the water retention capacity of fructans, this was not enough to affect the stability of the product. The obtained thermograms showed that an increase in fructans concentration increases the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the powder.