Application of lipid microparticles in food systems and characterization of systems

• Grant number: 12/03918-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Effective date (Start): September 03, 2012
• Effective date (End): December 02, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Technology
• Principal Investigator: Carmen Sílvia Fávaro Trindade
• Grantee: Paula Kiyomi Okuro
• Supervisor: Ana Maria Pereira Gomes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisboa (UCP), Portugal
• Associated to the scholarship: 10/13026-0 - Development, evaluation and application of symbiotic microcapsules obtained by spray chilling, BP.MS

Abstract

Consumers have been relating the quality of your diet with your health. Therefore natural and healthy foods are chosen as those that positively impact when included regularly in the diet. Thus, consumers' concerns with the diet motivates an increase of demand for products that are healthy and concomitant sensory attractive. At this juncture it is appropriate the use of functional foods, especially those with added probiotic microorganisms. Generally, the stability of these microorganisms in food is low and therefore the microencapsulation has been studied as an alternative for survival and protection of probiotics. Due to the synergistic relationship between probiotics and prebiotics, it suggests that the preparation of microcapsules symbiotic promote greater stability and viability of probiotics in the food. The avocado is a fruit that stands out for its nutritional value, being rich in unsaturated lipids, vitamins and fiber, and sensory appreciation. Therefore during the stage is intended to implementation of the symbiotic microparticles in a fruit matrix, in this case the avocado fruit, that is compatible with the nature of lipid microparticle. This product may be used as alternative ingredient for the dairy industry, in order to enable incorporating yogurt with fruit pulp, for example. The production of this ingredient can exploit the benefits provided by the fruit itself and also to the health claim functional microparticle by incorporation of solid lipid-carrier probiotic micro-organisms as well as prebiotics. The aim is to study the production of this ingredient to the industry through the viability of probiotics (monitoring the counts of probiotic micro-organisms), comparison between the use of free and encapsulated, physico-chemical characterization of the product, color measurement, sensory evaluation, simulation of the product passage through the gastrointestinal tract and viability of encapsulated microorganisms as compared to microorganisms in the free form during storage of the product. It is expected from an innovative ingredient, which confer protection and the possibility of controlled release in the intestine for probiotic microorganisms, and which is affirmed its viability as food symbiotic. (AU)