Investigating the Effects of Biopolymer Concentration and Core Material Percentage on Quality Characteristics of Fish Oil Nanocapsules Containing Clove Essential Oil Prepared by Complex Coacervation Technique

Considering the unsaturated nature of fatty acids, the use of technologies to control its oxidation rate is essential for use in the food industry. Thereafter, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of biopolymer concentration and core material percentage on quality characteristics of fish oil nanocapsules containing clove essential oil prepared by complex coacervation technique. In the present experimental research, the effects of 3 independent variables including the total biopolymer percentage (gelatin-gum Arabic; 6, 8, and 10%), oil content (2 to 3%), and the concentration of clove essential oil (0, 2000, and 3000 ppm) on dependent variables such as size and zeta potential of particles, color, surface oil, encapsulation, and nanoencapsulation efficiency were evaluated. The present study was carried out as factorial experiment in a completely randomized design. One-way analysis of variance and Duncan test were used. The data were analyzed by SPSS 16 software. The increase in total biopolymer percentage was associated with increasing particle size as it was in the range between 259.19±55.83 and 814.35±253.05 nm, respectively. In terms of color parameters, the yellowness of produced powders was increased by increasing the concentration of fish oil and cloves essential oil, while lightness was decreased by increasing the concentration of the biopolymer. Also, the superficial oil was increased by increasing oil and clove essential oil concentrations in the nanocapsules, and microencapsulation efficiency in different treatments was recorded between 65.1±2.75 in treatment 15 (10% biopolymer and 3% oil) to 98.84±0.78 in treatment 4 (8% biopolymer and 2% oil). Using complex coacervation technique with gelatin-gum Arabic as a biopolymer can produce nano-sized particles.