The Study Of Lycopene Microencapsulation

The functional properties of lycopene have been confirmed by many researchstudies. But the lipophilic and unstable characters of lycopene are hindering itsapplication in the food, cosmetic and medicine areas. The aim of this study was toproduce a stable and water-soluble microencapsulated lycopene product.An inclusion complex of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin with lycopene wasprepared. This inclusion complex was tested using different methods, such asUV-visible spectra, microscopy and DSC. The results showed that the inclusioncomplex was a new formation which contributed to the increased lycopene solubilityand stability after inclusion.Having a good wall material is a crucial factor for spray-dryingmicroencapsulation, so the paper studied the influence of different wall materials formicroencapsulation. Response surface methodology was used to investigate the effectof different variables on the microencapsulation effect of lycopene. It showed that thecompound wall materials of maltrodextrin with modified starch and gum arabic withmodified starch were both effective microencapsulation wall materials for lycopenefrom which the highest microencapsulation efficiency was obtained.The technology for microencapsulation (including emulsifier technology andspry-drying technology) was studied. The emulsifier study was done to get the bestemulsifier type and amount which resulted into the best emulsifier technology. Theoptimum spry-drying conditions were studied using the orthogonal design.The moisture, density, grain and solubility of the microencapsulated lycopenewere tested. The SEM showed that the appearance of microencapsulated lycopene isgood, smooth and well-encapsulated.The stability of the microencapsulated lycopene was also tested and comparedwith crystal lycopene of the same concentration, which results showed the stabilityhaving increased greatly.