Encapsulation of omega-3 fatty acids by premix membrane emulsification

Resumen

In food and pharma industry, fish oils are highly demanded due to the many associated health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. However, the delivery of fish oil through food is a major challenge as this oil is susceptible to oxidation and to produce off-flavors. To prevent these undesired effects, microencapsulation techniques are used. Typically oil encapsulation is carried out by two steps (i) emulsion preparation (ii) drying. The main objective is to study the effect of the emulsification method, emulsion formulation, membrane type and microcapsule formulation on relevant physic-chemical parameters of fish oil microcapsules.The approach of the project is to combine, for the first time, the advantages of using a low energy emulsification technique (membrane emulsification) and spray drying to obtain food-grade fish oil microcapsules. The results show a clear improvement in the oil encapsulation efficiency (OEE) when decreasing the droplet size of the emulsion and increasing the amount of wall material. The combination of a polysaccharide with a protein has been found to improve protection against oxidation during storage of the microcapsules, while the addition of denatured proteins as a part of the microcapsule wall material enhances OEE but does not improve the mechanical strength of the microcapsules.