Obtenção, caracterização e avaliação da estabilidade de pigmentos naturais microencapsulados

Abstract

Nowadays, there is a world increase in the consumer’s preference for food that contains natural ingredients. As it comes to pigments, there is still a difficulty in the utilization of natural pigments on the food industry, because these have less stability than the synthetic ones. With the objective of increasing the stability and the utilization of natural pigments as food ingredients, they were submitted to microencapsulation by atomization. The utilized pigments were bixin, a liposoluble pigment from urucum (Bixa orellana L.) and anthocyanins, water soluble pigments from açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.), combined with encapsulating agents (arabic gum, cashew tree gum and maltodextrin), in different formulations. Moisture, solubility and crystallinity tests were executed, as well as scanning electronic microscopy, in order to observe the microcapsules morphology. The microencapsulated natural pigments were studied by calorimetry in different presentations, that is, they were dissolved in a pH 4,0 buffer-solution and as powders. In the referred buffer-solution, a pure anthocyanin extract was used as a control. Then, the stability of the described formulations were evaluated through time, at room temperature of 23°C ± 1°C, with and without light exposure. The microencapsulated natural pigments degeneration occurred faster under light. The cashew tree gum proved to be a good encapsulating agent and, since it is an abundant natural resource in Ceará, it can be utilized to replace arabic gum, whose importation cost is high.