Lemon spray-drying

Viability of Starch Derivatives as Flavoring Encapsulants. The capillary GC vapor phase flux term (defined by a percent external standard or ZEStD flux) previously described (34) was used to screen starch derivatives (oxidized, dextrinized and/or covalent amino acid linkage) as to their flavor encapsulation potential. The samples were prepared as previously described (34) with the exception of an added reduced pressure deaeration step, thus allowing the use of the headspace diffusivity versus retention standard curves to predict volatile lemon oil retention following spray drying. 

Following preliminary hypochlorite treatments, a coherent process path was identified and implemented. Corn starch was oxidized with 6.4% (w/w) hypochlorite for two hours and given a combined base-heat gelatinization process (Method A). This base material exhibited excellent physical characteristics (i.e., stable emulsion with 20% db lemon oil incorporation into an aqueous dispersion, low lemon oil vapor phase flux (low headspace content), lack of inherent flavor and aroma) and when finally tested for spray dried lemon oil (20% db) retention efficiency in a lab-scale mini-dryer, the viability of this polymer was ascertained. Nearly 70% of the added lemon oil was retained following the drying of this DE 1.45 starch, a measure of functionality matched only by gum arabic (34). 

Table II. Lemon oil retentions (20%db) of spray-dried base starches...

Emulsions of lemon oil stabilized with gum arabic, a conventional starch dextrin and a low viscosity starch octenylsuccinate were spray-dried and evaluated for encapsulating efficiencies. Oil retentions and surface oil determinations were made according to the Materials and Methods section. TABLE 3 demonstrates the superiority of the starch octenylsuccinate in flavor retention and surface oil to gum arabic and a starch dextrin (5) ... 

The data show that when spray-drying a 30% lemon oil level on the weight of the carrier, the starch octenylsuccinate only loses O.37o of the oil during the spray-drying process. Surface flavor oil was also lower for the starch octenylsuccinates which indicates excellent encapsulation efficiencies. 

Flavoring agents may be classified as natural, artificial, or natural and artificial (N A) by combining the allnatural and synthetic fiavors. Pharmaceutical flavors are available as liquids (e.g., essential oils, fluid extracts, tinctures, and distillates), solids (e.g., spray-dried, crystalline vanillin, freeze-dried cinnamon powders, and dried lemon fluid extract), and pastes (e.g., soft extracts, resins, and so-called concretes, which are brittle on the outside and soft on the inside). Liquid flavors are by far the most widely used because they diffuse readily into the substrate. They are available both as oily (e.g., essential oils) or non-oily liquids. Their texture is generally dependent on the solvent within which they are prepared. Fluid extracts may contain a single ingredient or a variety of compounded ingredients. Tinctures are obtained by maceration or percolation of specific herbs and spices in alcohol. 

In solid state, CD in paste (powder, water) is mixed (kneading) with the product to encapsulate, with just the quantity of water, some of the complex paste is vacuum- or spray-dried (lemon oil, Bhandari et al., 1999). 

Citrus (oranges, lemons, grapefruit) is processed into juice and oil for human uses and into molasses and dried pulp for use as animal feed. The fruit is first washed with a detergent and rinsed with water. The oil is localized in oil sacs on the surface of the fruit. The surface is scarified under a water spray to form an emulsion of oil and water. The oil is recovered by centrifugation. Altered to remove high melting point fats, and dried with sodium sulfate, which is removed by filtration. 

Substantial improvement (about 50%) of lemon oil encapsulation efficiency was attained for the covalently-linked phenylalanine-Oxidized starch wall material over the Oxidized starch control. In fact, this particular glycoamine resulted in lemon oil retentions following drying in the mini-spray dryer which surpassed both the Control and lipophilic starches (See Table IV). Dry blending phenylalanine with the Oxidized starch base exhibited the benefits associated with covalently linked glycoamine production via lemon oil vapor phase flux analysis. 

---