Microencapsulation of Gac (Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng.) fruit oil in Ca-Alginate bead produced through Jetcutter

Abstract

The Gac (Momordica cochinchinensis Spreng.) fruit oil was microencapsulated in Ca-Alginate bead by Jetcutter equipment. Experiments showed that the effects of emulsion preparation and equipment parameters were significant on particle size, microencapsulation yield, loading capacity and solids recovery efficiency of the device. At alginate concentration of 2.5%, the bead had a spherical size of 1.07 - 1.18 mm when the fluid flow was 14 mL/min and the rotation of the cutting disc was 400 - 800 rpm. Samples stored for 2 h after homogenization showed better microencapsulation yield (83 - 84%) and bead size (1.07 mm) than those stored for 24 h after homogenization (79% and 1.18 mm). When the loading capacity increased from 20% to 40%, the mole ratio (CaCl2-alginate) in the bead was reduced from 1.55 to 0.86. This mole ratio data can be considered to control and adjust CaCl2 concentration during the continuous operation of the Jetcutter.