Introduction:

Oleoresins are extracts of oily nature from chilies, used as ingredients to provide flavor and aroma to many food products. However, they are thermolabile and very susceptible to quality losses during processing or storage, it being convenient to encapsulate their bioactive components before being used as food ingredients in order that their useful life is not affected. A methodology that allows to recommend the optimal storage conditions for dehydrated products is the proposed by Beristain and Azuara (1990). Where there is a zone of minimum integral entropy of the water molecules. In the minimum integral entropy, water is less available for deterioration reactions and the food retains its functional quality.

Method:

Habanero chili oleoresin (OCH) was encapsulated using the molecular inclusion technique with β-cyclodextrin (βCD) to protect it during storage. The molecular inclusion complex was prepared in the proportions 20:80 and 30:70 oleoresin: β-cyclodextrin, respectively, and stored for 5 weeks in a range of aw =0.103-0.765 at 25, 35 and 45 °C. The thermodynamic properties were analyzed to explain the effect of temperature and aw on the encapsulates stability.

Results:

The results showed that the inclusion complex in the 30-70 ratio is more stable than elaborated in the 20-80 ratio, being less hygroscopic, presenting a large zone of minimum integral entropy of around 0.3-0.6 aw and smaller ΔE values during storage at 25 ºC.

Conclusion:

According to the thermodynamic analyzes and the tests of the variation of ΔE, it was possible to obtain the adequate proportion of encapsulation (OCH-βCD), as well as to recommend the best conditions of temperature and humidity during storage, in order to avoid drastic changes in the color, product of the thermal degradation of carotenoids present in the samples.

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