Soursop leaves contain bioactive compounds which degrade after being separated from their native matrix. In order to protect their functionality, encapsulation can be applied. This investigation aimed to optimize the parameters for microencapsulating a hydroethanolic extract of soursop leaves after selecting a technique among freeze (FDM) and spray drying (SDM). Selection was performed through a factorial design (23) including as factors: the technique (FDM and SDM), the encapsulant (Gum Arabic and maltodextrin) and its concentration (5% and 10%), for maximizing encapsulation efficiency (EE). Spray drying microencapsulation with maltodextrin at 10% showed the highest EE. Subsequently, the drying temperature and the feeding rate were optimized through a multilevel factorial design to minimize moisture and to maximize the powder solubility and the EE. A significant effect on the response v...

Soursop leaves contain bioactive compounds which degrade after being separated from their native matrix. In order to protect their functionality, encapsulation can be applied. This investigation aimed to optimize the parameters for microencapsulating a hydroethanolic extract of soursop leaves after selecting a technique among freeze (FDM) and spray drying (SDM). Selection was performed through a factorial design (23) including as factors: the technique (FDM and SDM), the encapsulant (Gum Arabic and maltodextrin) and its concentration (5% and 10%), for maximizing encapsulation efficiency (EE). Spray drying microencapsulation with maltodextrin at 10% showed the highest EE. Subsequently, the drying temperature and the feeding rate were optimized through a multilevel factorial design to minimize moisture and to maximize the powder solubility and the EE. A significant effect on the response v...