1.

Dextrose equivalent (DE) is a term used to indicate the degree of hydrolysis of

starch into dextrose or glucose. It is the percentage of the total starch that have
been converted to reducing sugars or the amount of reducing sugars present in a
solution. Degrees brix is the sugar content of an aqueous solution. It measures
the mass percentage of sucrose or solid sugar content dissolved in the solution
by wet basis. The properties of maltodextrins depend on its DE value.
Maltodextrins are less hygroscopic and lower the DE, lesser the tendency to
absorb moisture. When the temperature is decreased before spray drying, the
maltodextrins tend to retrograde to the amylose structure after the acid or
enzyme hydrolysis. Acidic hydrolysis of starch leads to excessive free glucose
which retrogrades to form a hazy solution. The retrogradation process of
amyloses forms a strong network by realigns amyloses which affect the tendency
to absorb water and solubility in water. The lower the DE value of maltodextrins,
the lower its solubility in water. Because of that, the total soluble solid or Degree
Brix of lower DE maltodextrins will be lower. Due to lesser dextrose unit solute in
the maltodextrins liquid, it tends to appear hazy in decreased temperature

2. Encapsulation are protection of certain molecules using a dedicated envelope

such as microcapsules. For encapsulation using maltodextrin, the microcapsules
are made of maltodextrins. Microcapsules stability highly depended of
maltodextrins DE. High DE maltodextrin has excellent oxidation stability when
stored under certain conditions. Therefore, using DE 18 maltodextrin is more
suitable for this flavor encapsulation.