A comparison between palm oil and milk fat used as oil phase in the encapsulation of catechine by nano-emulsion method

Due to the noticeable use of palm oil as an additive in dairy industry, and the increased interest of consumer in the foods with antioxidant value, the palm oil was used in the entrapment of tea catechin, and its efficiency was compared with that of the milk fat. In the current research, the effect of type of oil phase (palm oil and milk fat), different ratios of span 80 surfactant to lecithin (0.5- 2) and varied RPMs (600-900 rpm) were investigated on the encapsulation of catechin by spontaneous emulsification method, upon which pH, creaming index, electrical conductivity, brix, refractive index, particles size and antioxidant activity were measured. The obtained results showed that an increase in PRM caused to a rise in creaming index in all samples, in particle's size in nano capsules with milk fat, and in refractive index and antioxidants activity in nano capsules with palm oil, while the increased PRM resulted in a decrease in particle's size in nano capsules with palm oil. In addition, increasing the ration of span 80 to lecithin led to increased creaming index and reduced pH and electrical conductivity in all samples, whereas it did not bring about a significant change in particle's size. Surprisingly, the Brix of nano capsules with palm oil was more than that of nano-capsules with milk fat. Generally, the palm oil nano capsules containing catechin produced from palm oil had proper features compared to the milk fat nano capsules containing catechin.