Development and Characterization of Sodium Alginate/Gum Arabic Beads using Encapsulation Technique with Dimocarpus longan Extracts for Food Industry

Abstract Encapsulation can be accomplished by a variety of methods. Extrusion is used to obtain granules with encapsulated liquid active ingredients for food and pharmaceutical applications and has been used for volatile active compounds. This work aimed to study the microencapsulation of the total phenolic compound of longan extract through the extrusion method. According to the findings of the study of the encapsulation process of longan extract, the optimized condition of longan beads was 1.5% sodium alginate and 4% calcium chloride. Under these conditions, the total phenolic compound, antioxidant activity, and encapsulation efficiency of longan extract beads were 3.845 mgGAE/gbead, 55.06%, and 66.95%, respectively. A study of the combination of sodium alginate with natural polymers (gelatin, pectin, and gum arabic) found that alginate/gum Arabic longan beads had the highest encapsulation efficiency of 74.86 ± 0.171%. The effect of pH on the stability of total phenolic compounds (pH 2, 5, and 8) found that longan beads exhibited good stability under acidic conditions were studied. Finally, to study the effect of gamma irradiation on sterilization and the physical of longan beads, A gamma irradiation dose of 7.5 kGy could effectively sterilize microorganisms and strengthen the longan beads. These results indicate that longan beads can produce beads rich in phenolic compounds that can be used as natural supplements and antioxidants in various food products.