Preparation and formulation of functional half-Fat spread butter with micro-emulsions containing omega-3

Today, in developed countries, where there is a deep dependence on processed foods, food fortification has played a major role in the health of these communities over the past 40 years and has led to the eradication of malnutrition in these countries. Omega-3 is a type of unsaturated fatty acid that is composed of a carboxyl group (COOH) and a carbon chain with several double bonds. Clinical trials have shown that omega-3 deficiency can increase the risk of diseases such as mood problems and anxiety, psychosis, attention deficit disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, personality disorders, depression, dementia and autism. In fact fatty acids have a protective effect against psychiatric disorders, especially in people at high risk. The use of fatty acid compounds directly in food enrichment causes problems such as autoxidation, malnutrition, reduced bioavailability as well as instability against light and heat, which has led to the use of various techniques to encapsulate. Microencapsulation is the process of employing a carrier for sensitive microorganisms and compounds with high instability as well as high cost to protect the external environment, thus reducing cell damage. Natural polymers are based on available materials for their biodegradability, food compatibility and viability of controlled transmission systems. The structure of emulsions consists of scattered droplets of one liquid (suspended phase or internal phase) in another liquid (continuous phase or external phase). Emulsions with a particle diameter of nanometers and, according to most authors, a maximum of 500 nanometers are called microemulsions. There are different techniques for producing microemulsions, each of which produces microemulsions with different properties, and each has advantages and disadvantages. In this study, semi-fat spread butter was prepared with omega-3 microemulsion.

The aim of this study was fortification of half-fat spread butter with microemulsion containing omega-3 based on emulsification/ gelation microemulsification method. Microemulsions were prepared according to the method of (Chen and Subirade, 2006) with some modifications. From each of the microemulsions containing omega 3 with concentrations of 400, 500, 600 and 700 mg of omega 3, 10 mg per 100 g of butter sample was added and rubbed until a homogeneous mixture was obtained and stirred thoroughly. After that, the product was packaged at a maximum temperature of 16 ° C and transferred to a refrigerator below zero (-18) ° C, and then evaluated at the time production day and the first, second, third and fourth months. Evaluation of size, polydispersity index of microemulsions morphological characteristics, omega-3 trapping rate in microemulsion and omega-3 release rate on the basis of the method (Chen and Subirade, 2006) was done. The amount of peroxide was measured idiometrically - the end point was determined visually according to National Standard No, 4179. Butter acidity was done by titration method according to National Standard No, 4178. Sensory characteristics such as taste, color, odor and general acceptance were assessed using 15 trained evaluators based on a 5-point hedonic test.  Results were analyzed with analysis variance and (α = 0.05) with software SPSS version 22. Results demonstrated that the average size of microemulsion was between 95 -119 nm. The loading efficacy of omega 3 was between 65-79%.

Fish oil is the main food source of long-chain unsaturated fatty acids that have healing effects on the body. Studies have shown that eating fish oil-fortified foods has potential health benefits, especially protection against heart disease, cancer and improved brain function. In this study, omega-3 microemulsions were used to enrich half-fat spread butter. According to the results of the present study, the particle size of the microemulsion was between 95 and 119 nanometers. The omega-3 trapping rate was between 65 and 79 percent. The results showed that peroxide, acidity and sensory indexes of butter treatments during storage showed a significant increase until the end of the fourth month of storage. The least amount of changes in sensory and physicochemical indices were observed in the treatment of butter with microemulsions with 500 mg omega 3 and the highest amount of changes was observed in the pasteurized control butter. Finally, the treatment of pasteurized semi-fat spread butter with 500 mg of omega 3 was selected and introduced as the optimal treatment.