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| Author(s): |
Renata Mukai Correa
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | Campinas, SP. |
| Institution: | Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos |
| Defense date: | 2003-11-12 |
| Examining board members: |
Carlos Raimundo Ferreira Grosso;
Flavia Maria Netto;
Maria Célia Portella;
Maria Helena Andrade Santana
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| Advisor: | Carlos Raimundo Ferreira Grosso |
| Abstract | |
This research aimed at producing microcapsules capable of retaining proteins, with the objective of substituting the live organisms used in larval fish feed. Four different polysaccharides: alginate, carrageenan, gelan gum and pectin were used, all having the capacity to form gels by ionic polymerization both individually and in association, in order to produce capsules or microcapsules. The capsules were produced using a peristaltic bomb and the microcapsules using high -pressure capillary aspersion. Phase diagrams were constructed to determine the regions of sol, gel and syneresis. Parameters such as floatability, solubility, morphology and capsule/microcapsule size were evaluated, these parameters determining the subsequent choice and use of capsule or microcapsule in fish breeding. The protein liberating capacity of the microcapsule were investigated in moist and freeze-dried matrices after pre-determined periods, using casein (model protein) and a system composed by casein with the introduction of hydrogenated vegetable fat. In vitro digestibility trials were carried out to verify enzyme access to the encapsulated protein. The results presented by the phase diagrams showed the capacity of both gelan gum and carrageenan to form gels as from polymeric concentrations of 0.75 and 1.2% respectively, without the addition of calcium. The diagrams also indicated the predominance of one of the component polymers of the mixture (binary, ternary or quaternary) used in the production of microcapsules. Ali the microcapsules studied were shown to be insoluble after jellification and curing. The floatability of the moist unfilled microcapsules varied from 21,7s (pectin-alginate) to 6,5s (carrageenan-alginate). The floatability of both moist and freeze-dried microcapsules containing protein and fat was greater than 4 hours. The size of the capsules varied from 1,5 to 2 mm (§tereoscopic microscopy) and that of the microcapsules from 8 to 870 ).lm (Iaser scattering) with a mean of 150).lm. With respect to morphology, both the capsules and microcapsules were mostly spherical and multinucleated, the filling being distributed throughout the matrix. Freeze-drying resulted in a partial loss of the spherical form of the microcapsules, which nevertheless retained their physical integrity. The polymeric systems filled with only protein showed different protein liberation profiles, with greater liberation being observed for the alginate matrix (100%) and lesser liberation by the ternary mixture of pectin-gelan-alginate (10%), after 240 minutes in solution. The inclusion of fat in the system resulted in a significant reduction (p<0.05) in protein liberation by the microcapsule. The lowest degree of liberation was observed for the freeze-dried microcapsules. The in vivo digestibility of the microcapsules indicated access of the enzymes to the encapsulated protein, with considerable levels of digestibility (proteolytic mean >40% and a pH fall of >70%) in all the systems studied, as compared to that of free casein (AU) | |