Development of polysaccharide emulsion-filled gels incorporating vitamins d and B12

• Grant number: 16/21760-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): May 01, 2017
• Effective date (End): June 30, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Technology
• Acordo de Cooperação: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Samantha Cristina de Pinho
• Grantee: Marluci Ghiraldi
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The interest on the market for vegetarian and vegan products has grown in the last decade, and new fortified food products are being introduced in the market. It is important to notice that such products are not intended only to that audience, but also the supporters and consumers who increasingly seek healthier foods. Knowing that part of the vegetarian public as well as virtually all of the vegan public has deficiencies in the intake of vitamins D3 and B12, an interesting alternative in the development of products such public is to add vitamins such as fortifying food for this consumer market.An interesting way of producing fortified foods can design them in the form of charged emulsion gels, having as an advantage the capability of being able to adduce active compounds, both lipophilic (encapsulated in the oil droplets) and hydrophilic (trapped in the gel network ). Vitamin B12 is a hydrophilic compound, derived from animal products essential for human growth and development of cells and their deficiency results in anemia and neuropathy. Vitamin D3 is a hydrophobic vitamin produced in the skin upon exposure to sunlight or ingested from animal products, its deficiency can affect the absorption and regulating calcium homeostasis. Vitamin D3 undergoes degradation in the presence of light and oxygen, thus, to be incorporated into food it must be encapsulated to be better preserved. An encapsulation system suitable for this vitamin are emulsions, and as the audience are vegetarians / vegans, it is necessary that the emulsifiers used are natural, such as polysaccharides arabic gum and inulin. Among the polysaccharides interesting for structuring a gelled food product is pectin, which is also regarded as a dietary fiber and has a prebiotic effect. Thus, this project aims to produce and feature a pectin gel loaded with emulsion, while incorporating vitamin B12 and vitamin D3, which can be used to structure a product to be consumed by vegetarian / vegan public wishing to supplement their intake both nutrients simultaneously. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

GHIRALDI, Marluci. Development of polysaccharide emulsion filled gels incorporated with vitamins D3 and B12. 2018. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Zootecnica e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZE/BT) Pirassununga.