Prolonging the shelf life of wheat germ with Guar, Carboxymethyl cellulose and Persian gum by freeze-drying encapsulation method

Wheat germ is the embryo of the wheat grain and is abundant in tocopherol, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids. Wheat germ has high enzyme activity, which reduces its shelf life. Wheat germs are often eliminated during the milling of wheat grains to extend the shelf life of the flour and avoid the formation of an unpleasant taste in the flour. The goal of this study was to enhance the storage life of wheat germ by freeze-drying encapsulation using guar, carboxymethyl cellulose, and Persian gums. The current study employed a 1:0.05 ratio for maltodextrin: different gums mixes, and physicochemical and microbiological tests were performed on the samples throughout a 360-day storage period. The collected data was evaluated using a completely random design. SPSS was used for statistical analysis of the samples, and averages were compared using Duncan's test at a significance level of 1%. The results showed that the amount of peroxide in CMC gum treatment decreased with time. Anisidine and totox levels were also reduced by Persian gum and maltodextrin. The amount of yeast in maltodextrin, Persian, CMC, and guar treatments decreased, whereas total bacterial count values increased in Persian gum, guar, maltodextrin, and CMC treatments. Investigating wheat germ encapsulation to extend product shelf life revealed that the efficacy of this technology is dependent on the kind of wall material as a primary parameter. The mixing of various gums and materials with other gums may be useful in increasing the physicochemical characteristics of the resulting microcapsules.