The Effect of Wall Material and Encapsulation Method on Physicochemical Properties Micro-encapsulated Fish Oil

In this study the physicochemical characteristics of microencapsulated fish oil using various wall materials and drying methods were examined. The fish oil encapsulated by three combinations of matrices (fish gelatin馩涡ힱ뚸, κ carrageenan馩涡ힱ뚸, fish gelatin κ carrageenan 馩涡ힱ뚸), and 25% fish oil emulsions were dried through three different coacervation (CC), spray drying (SD), and freeze drying (FD). Physicochemical characteristics including moisture content, surface and total oil, encapsulation efficiency, color and morphology of microcapsules were investigated. According to results, the combination of fish gelatin and maltodextrin was the best wall combination and also coacervation was the best method to encapsulation of fish oil. These powders had higher encapsulation efficiency and lower surface oil than the other treatments. The results indicated that microcapsules produced by coacervation actually formed larger microcapsules, which provided maximum protection to the fish oil droplets. Comparison of the CC, SD, and FD processes confirmed that combination of matrices; drying temperature, morphology and processing time were among the most critical factors influencing fish oil powders.