Journal of Food Engineering 285 (2020) 110101

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Journal of Food Engineering

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jfoodeng

Chia seed mucilage as a potential encapsulating agent of a natural food dye

J�essica Loraine D. Antigo a, Ana Paula Stafussa a, Rita de Cassia Bergamasco b, Grasiele
Scaramal Madrona b, *
a
P�
os-graduaç~
ao em Ci^encia de Alimentos, Universidade Estadual de Maring�
a, Avenida Colombo, 5790, Maring�
a, PR, Brazil
b
Departamento de Engenharia de Alimentos, Universidade Estadual de Maring� a, Avenida Colombo, 5790, Maring�
a, PR, Brazil

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Chia mucilage is a product with high emulsifying capacity, being a potential encapsulating agent of food in­
Beet gredients microencapsulated. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the chia mucilage as encapsulating
Thermal stability agent of the natural beet dye, in combination with maltodextrin and arabic gum (at 10 and 15% of concentra­
Betacyanin
tion), in spray drying microencapsulation. The mucilage used in the study was obtained by freeze drying and by
Spray drying
drying in oven at 50 � C. Moisture, dye retention capacity, hygroscopicity, yield, solubility, color and morphology
of the microcapsules were characterized. The effect of pH and temperature of the medium on the aqueous
dispersion stability of the samples was also evaluated. The microcapsules formulated with chia mucilage and
maltodextrin showed the highest retention capacity of betacyanin, especially the sample formulated with freeze
dried chia mucilage. This result about thermal stability study and in the pH stability study, the results were
promising.

1. Introduction
The use of natural dyes in food products has increased in recent years
due to the marketing advantages of using natural ingredients, given
consumers’ concerns regarding the potential harmful effects caused by
synthetic pigments allergy and intolerance (Kumar et al., 2015). How­
ever, natural dyes have some disadvantages compared to artificial ones.
Costs are usually higher and, depending on the specific dye, they exhibit
lower stability under processing and storage conditions. In this context,
microencapsulation of natural dyes has been widely explored by re­
searchers as a way to increase their stability when applied to food
products.
Betacyanin is a natural red dye that, together with betaxanthin
(yellow color), form betalain, a nitrogenous compound found in
different sources such as cactus Opuntia ficus indica, pitaya and beet (Tsai
et al., 2009; Castro-Enriquez et al., 2019). Several studies can be found
concerning the microencapsulation of betacyanin with different tech­
niques, such as spray drying, which is a low cost unitary operation
widely used in the food industry (Azeredo et al., 2007; Pitalua et al.,
2010; Ravichandran et al., 2012; Janiszewska, 2014). For this process,
the combinations of the maltodextrin and arabic gum encapsulating
agents have shown interesting results, since it combines the low cost and
high water solubility of maltodextrin, with the emulsifying property of
gum arabic (Robert et al., 2015; Gharsallaoui et al., 2007). And also, the
starch, is a promising raw carbohydrate since is biodegradable, abun­
dant, and widely available (Pan et al., 2020b).
Mucilage extracted from chia seed is a promising natural material for
the food industry due to its emulsifying and stability properties. This
mucilage can be used as a substitute for food ingredients in ice cream,
mayonnaise and cake (Campos et al., 2016; Felisberto et al., 2015;
Fernandes and de las Mercedes Salas-Mellado, 2017; Fernandes and
Mellado, 2018). Chia mucilage can also be applied as encapsulating
agent of probiotic, oils and microorganisms (da Silva Stefani et al., 2019;
de Campo et al., 2017; Bustamante et al., 2017). However, the way this
mucilage is obtained (extraction, separation and drying) influences the
final characteristics of the product into which it will be incorporated,
and this factor may also change the characteristics of the chia mucilage
microcapsules. According Pan et al. (2020a) is essential to use an
emulsifier for the production of an oil-in-water emulsion that can acts as
a preservative during encapsulation (processing, transportation and
storage).
In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of chia
mucilage as an encapsulating agent of beet betacyanin and to study the
effect of medium temperature and pH on the stability of the natural dye
microcapsules in aqueous dispersions. As an innovation factor, chia
mucilage obtained by lyophilization and oven-dried mucilage at 50 � C

* Corresponding author. Av. Colombo, 5790, Bloco 13, Maringa, Parana, 87020-900, Brazil.
E-mail address: gsmadrona@uem.br (G.S. Madrona).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2020.110101
Received 16 January 2020; Received in revised form 24 April 2020; Accepted 24 April 2020
Available online 30 April 2020
0260-8774/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. This article is made available under the Elsevier license (http://www.elsevier.com/open-access/userlicense/1.0/).
J.L.D. Antigo et al.
were compared.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Material
Beet (Beta vulgaris L.) and chia seed (Salvia hispanica L.) were used as
raw material, both obtained from local commerce (Maringa �, Brazil).
Maltodextrin (DE10) was provided by Cargill and gum arabic was pur­
chased from Reatec (Sa ~o Paulo, Brazil). Only analytical reagents were
used in this study.
2.2. Extraction and drying of chia mucilages
Chia mucilage extraction followed the methodology described by
Campos et al. (2016) with modifications. Chia mucilage was extracted
from the seed using distilled water at a ratio of 1:30 (seeds:water), in a
water bath at 50 � C with stirring (1500 rpm) for 2 h. A cotton cloth was
used to absorb the aqueous suspension, separating it from the seeds. Two
conditions of mucilage drying (based on preliminary tests) were tested:
the first in an oven with forced air circulation at 50 � C for 24 h; the
second in a bench top freeze dryer (Liobras, model L108) for 96 h to
obtain the mucilage film.
2.3. Microencapsulation of natural beet dye
The beets were selected, washed, sanitized (200 ppm of active
chlorine) and sliced. The juice was extracted into the centrifuge Turbo
Juicer CF-06 (Mondial) and filtered (0.45 μm filter paper).
The encapsulating agents maltodextrin and chia mucilage were
added to beet juice in the final concentrations of 10% and 15% (w/v).
Four formulations were prepared for each encapsulating agent concen­
tration: only maltodextrin (M); maltodextrin with freeze-dried chia
mucilage (0.5% MCF); maltodextrin with oven-dried chia mucilage
(0.5% MCO); and maltodextrin with gum arabic (50%) (MAG) for
comparison purposes. A concentration of mucilage higher than 0.5%
conferred high viscosity to the solution, hindering spray drying.
Microencapsulation was performed by spray drying as described by
Valduga et al. (2008). The solutions were dried in a mini spray dryer,
(model MSD 1.0, LM) in the following operational drying conditions:
inlet and outlet air temperatures of 150 � C and 90 � C; atomization
pressure of 0.08–0.14 bar; average drying air flow rate of 3.8 m3/h;
average flow rate of 0.6 L/h.
The dry powders obtained from the spray dryer were stored in
thermosealable polyethylene nylon plastic packaging for later use.
2.4. Characterization of microcapsules
2.4.1. Process yield, hygroscopicity and moisture
Microencapsulation process yield (R) was measuring by using a
balance and calculated with eq. (1):
mR
Rð%Þ ¼ (1)
mT
in which mR and mT are, respectively, the powder mass collected after
spray drying experiment (g) and the mass of encapsulating agents in the
sprayed dispersion volume (g).
Hygroscopicity of microcapsules was determined by the method
proposed by Cai and Corke (2000) with modifications. Samples (1g)
were placed in an airtight container with saturated NaCl (75.3% RH).
The temperature was kept at 25 � C. After one week, the samples were
weighed and their hygroscopicity was expressed as g of moisture
absorbed per 100g of dry solids.
The determination of moisture content followed the methodology
described by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC,
2
Journal of Food Engineering 285 (2020) 110101
2000).
2.4.2. Extraction and quantification of betacyanin from microcapsules
The extraction of betacyanins from microcapsules was performed
according to Sa�enz et al. (2009). Microcapsules (100 mg) were dispersed
in 1 mL of ethanol:acetic acid:water solution (50:8:42 v:v:v). This
dispersion was stirred in vortex for 1 min. The supernatant was centri­
fuged for 5 min and then filtered. This solution was used to quantify
betacyanin in microcapsules, according to the methodology of Stintzing
et al. (2005).
The dye loaded was calculated with eq. (2) (Neto et al., 2017):
mB
dye loaded ðmg = 100g powderÞ ¼ (2)
mEA
where mB is the mass of betacyanin extracted from the microcapsules
(mg), and mEA is the mass of powder obtained after microencapsulation
(g).
2.4.3. Solubility
The determination of the solubility of microcapsules followed the
method described by Betancur-Ancona et al. (2003). An aqueous solu­
tion of the microcapsule samples (1%) was maintained in a shaking
water bath with constant temperature (25 � C) for 30 min. The solution
was then centrifuged at 2120�g for 15 min. A sample of the supernatant
(10 mL) was added to a Petri dish and dried in an air-circulating oven at
120 � C for 4 h. Solubility of samples was calculated with eq. (3):
dry weight
solubility ðg = 100 g powderÞ ¼ � 1000 (3)
sample weight
2.4.4. Color
Microcapsule color was assessed using a portable Konica Minolta®
CR400 colorimeter with an integrating sphere and a 3� viewing angle.
The system used was CIEL*a*b*.
2.4.5. Morphology
Microcapsule morphology was assessed by scanning electron mi­
croscopy (SEM, SS-550 Super Scan Scanning Electron Microscop, Shi­
madzu, Thailand). The samples were coated with gold, placed on a
support and photographed with a 1000-fold magnification.
2.5. Effect of pH and temperature on stability of betacyanin
microcapsules in aqueous dispersion
In food processing, large variations of temperature (5 � C–80 � C) and
pH are observed, depending on the product. Therefore, it is interesting
to evaluate the effect of these properties on the stability of betacyanin
microcapsules in aqueous dispersion. Microcapsule solutions (M, MCF,
MCO and MAG) (2% w/v) were prepared in buffers at pH 4, 6, 7, 8, 10,
according preliminary tests. Sodium acetate was used as buffer for the
pH 4 solution and sodium phosphate for pH 6, 7, 8, 10 (Gandía-Herrero
et al., 2009). The solutions were kept at 25 � C for 1 h without stirring
and then the supernatant was collected and the released betacyanin
content was quantified.
2.6. Statistical analysis
Data were expressed as mean � standard deviation (triplicate) and
submitted to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey test (p < 0.05) in
STATISTICA® version 8.0 (StatSoft, Inc., Tulsa, OK, USA).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Microcapsule characterization
The beet extract is a high sugar content compound, and the high
J.L.D. Antigo et al. Journal of Food Engineering 285 (2020) 110101

temperature used in spray drying causes the sugars in the extract to
caramelizate (reaction of Maillard) and consequently the material ad­
heres to the walls of the equipment chamber, reducing process yield
(Valduga et al., 2008). The adherence of the extract to the chamber is
reduced by using an encapsulating agent for drying, increasing the
process yield. Thus, higher concentrations of encapsulating agents
caused higher yields, as observed in the present study (Table 1), where
samples with higher concentration of encapsulating agents (15%) pre­
sented a higher process yield. Fazaeli et al. (2012) observed a similar
result on the microencapsulation of blackberry juice by spray drying.
The powder samples presented below 5% of moisture content
(Table 1), an acceptable value for spray drying microcapsules, ensuring
their stability during storage (Tontul and Topuz, 2017).
Although the microcapsules present different concentration and
composition, no significant difference was observed between the mois­
ture contents of the samples. Some studies report an increase in micro­
capsule moisture content with increased concentration of encapsulating
agents (Fazaeli et al., 2012); others report the opposite (Shi et al., 2013).
In addition, the mixture of encapsulating agents may influence the
moisture content of microcapsules. Bazaria & Kumar (2017) observed an
increase in the moisture content of beet extract microcapsules produced
by spray drying by mixing maltodextrin with arabic gum (1:1) as
encapsulating agents; Janiszewska (2014) observed the opposite. That
is, factors such as the composition of the encapsulating agents (for
example, the degree of dextrose equivalent of maltodextrin used), the
interaction between the encapsulating agents and the core and also the
process conditions may influence the moisture content of the samples.
The microcapsules hygroscopicity was below 12 g/100 g dry powder,
lower than the values obtained by Bazaria & Kumar (2017)
(14.09–19.33 g/100g). This difference may be related to the operating
conditions of the equipment, such as the inlet temperature, that was
lower in the present study than in the cited paper. Generally, high inlet
temperatures results in lower moisture contents in the microcapsules
and consequently higher hygroscopicity (Tonon et al., 2009).
Similarly, to the moisture content, hygroscopicity of the samples
presented no significant difference. Chia mucilage is a highly hygro­
scopic substance (Mun ~ oz et al., 2012). However, its concentration was
so low (0.5%) that it did not change significantly the hygroscopicity
comparing M, MCF and MCO. Arabic gum is also highly hygroscopic due
to the bonds between hydrogen present in water molecules and hydroxyl
groups available in the amorphous substrate region as well as on the
surface of the crystalline region (Tonon et al., 2009). Although the
mixture was in the ratio of 1: 1 (gum arabic and maltodextrin), there was
also no significant difference in hygroscopicity of the MAG sample when
compared to M. A similar result was also reported by Bazaria and Kumar
(2017).
All samples showed high solubility under the solubility test condi­
tions (>87%), with no significant difference between them (Table 1).
The encapsulating agents used in this research show high water solu­
bility at 25 � C, which made it easy to solubilize the microcapsules at
room temperature, a very important factor when applying the
microcapsules as an additive in the preparation of different products.
There are controversial reports on the effect solids concentration on
the amount of beet dye retained in the microcapsules produced by spray
drying. Bazaria and Kumar (2017) observed an increase in betalain
retention in microcapsules produced with different maltodextrin con­
centrations. On the other hand, Koul et al. (2002) reported a decrease in
betalain retained in microcapsules with increasing concentration of
maltodextrin in spray drying feed solution. In the present work, in
general, the concentration of encapsulating agents did not influence the
amount of betacyanin retained in the microcapsules. The difference
between these studies may be related to several factors such as the
characteristics of the equipment used or the raw material (for example,
the betalain content of beet juice).
The combination of maltodextrin and arabic gum has shown good
results in the encapsulation of dyes by spray drying (Janiszewska, 2014;
Ravichandran et al., 2014; Mahdavi et al., 2016), as also observed in the
present study, where the dye loaded of betacyanin was higher for MAG
when compared to M. Chranioti et al. (2015) describe that when
maltodextrin and gum arabic are combined, they maintain their struc­
tural integrity in the presence of water, revealing their effectiveness in
dye encapsulation.
The formulations containing chia mucilage presented the highest
betacyanin loaded when compared with samples M and MAG. In addi­
tion, the amount of betacyanin in MCF was higher than MCO. This dif­
ference in betacyanin content in microcapsules may be associated with
the emulsifying property of chia mucilage, which contributes to greater
physical stability of the emulsion during the spray drying process
(Us-Medina et al., 2018). In addition, freeze dried chia mucilage has
higher emulsion stability than MCO (data not shown), possibly because
of the low temperature used in this type of drying, which preserves the
chemical and molecular structure of the emulsion (Nep and Conway,
2011).
In all samples the red color was always predominant, as showed in
Fig. 1, however, the concentration of encapsulating agents had a great
influence on the color parameters of the samples (L, a* and b*) (Table 2).
Samples M and MCF, formulated with 15% concentration of encapsu­
lating agents, presented higher luminosity (L) and lower value of a* and
b* compared to those formulated with 10% concentration of encapsu­
lating agents. This is due to the lighter-colored aspect of the encapsu­
lating agents maltodextrin and freeze dried chia mucilage. The higher
the content of encapsulating agents, the lighter the sample. However,
the MCO and MAG samples showed inverse behavior, where the highest
L* values and the lowest a* and b* were attributed to the samples
formulated with 10% encapsulating agents. In this case, by comparing
with maltodextrin, the oven-dried chia mucilage had a darker coloration
due to the high temperature used in the drying process. Arabic gum also
had a darker coloration, so a greater amount of encapsulating agents in
the formulation results in a darker sample, tending to green and blue
(Fig. 1).
The luminosity of the samples was influenced by the concentration of
encapsulating agents. While samples with 10% encapsulating agents

Table 1
Characterization of beet extract microcapsules produced with 10% and 15% soluble solids concentration.
Encapsulating agents Formulation Moisture (g/ dye loaded (mg betacyanin/100 g Hygroscopicity (g/100 g dry R Solubility (g/100 g
concentration 100g) powder) powder) (yield) powder)
(%)

10% M 4.61a � 0.14 141.55e � 0.13 10.24a � 0.70 41.82 88.56a � 2.31
MCF 4.59a � 0.21 207.77a � 2.62 12.22a � 1.25 42.95 87.76a � 1.16
MCO 4.61a � 0.16 179.76c �0.31 11.99a � 0.07 42.98 88.60a � 6.90
MAG 4.75a � 0.26 149.77d � 0.70 10.21a � 0.20 41.50 87.40a � 2.22
15% M 4.69a � 0.01 142.73e � 2.72 11.46a � 0.08 42.96 90.83a � 1.15
MCF 4.57a � 0.15 212.23a � 3.28 11.32a � 0.10 43.01 91.66a � 1.45
MCO 4.63a � 0.30 197.08b � 2.75 10.01a � 0.33 44.15 91.56a � 1.59
MAG 4.77a � 0.03 149.35d � 2.49 11.04a � 1.27 43.19 93.73a � 4.50

Lower case letters in the same column do not differ at 5% significance level (p < 0.05).

3
J.L.D. Antigo et al. Journal of Food Engineering 285 (2020) 110101

Fig. 1. Physical characteristics of beet extract microcapsules with different agents and produced with (a) 10% and (b) 15% soluble solids concentration.

hypothesis was confirmed in the analysis of parameter a* for the

Table 2
encapsulating agents’ concentration of 15%, where there is a clear ev­
Color parameters for beet extract microcapsules produced with 10% and 15%
idence of the interference of arabic gum in this parameter, which pre­
soluble solids concentration.
sented the highest value, when compared to the other samples.
Encapsulating agents Formulation L a* b*
concentration
3.2. Morphology
10% M 34.45bc � 37.08a � 10.35bc �
0.66 0.14 0.12
MCF 32.80cd � 35.57b � 11.11a �
The morphological analysis of the powders was performed to eval­
0.29 0.30 0.14 uate if the types of encapsulating agents and the amount used in the
MCO 36.64b � 32.23c � 9.91c formulations interfered in the microcapsule format. The results showed
0.11 0.10 �0.05 that, regardless of the concentration and type of encapsulating agent, all
MAG 34.99bc � 35.24b � 8.91d �
samples presented irregular surface (Figs. 2 and 3), tending to agglom­
0.96 0.43 0.14
15% M 39.79a � 33.53c � 9.07de � eration (Janiszewska, 2014). This morphology can be attributed to
1.28 0.24 0.09 particle shrinkage due to rapid evaporation of water during the drying
MCF 36.88b � 33.41c � 9.41e � process (Ot�alora et al., 2015).
2.20 0.66 0.21
Microcapsules formulated with 15% encapsulating agents had larger
MCO 35.47bc � 32.71c � 10.72ab �
0.64 0.34 0.16
diameter and were less prone to agglomeration (Fig. 3) than samples
MAG 31.41d � 36.31ab � 10.03c � formulated with 10% encapsulating agents (Fig. 2). This happens
0.11 1.00 0.31 because higher concentrations of encapsulating agents result in more
Lower case letters in the same column do not differ at 5% significance level (p < viscous feed solutions, producing larger droplets during atomization and
0.05). thus larger particles (Tonon et al., 2008).
An interesting feature is that no cracks were observed in the micro­
showed no significant difference in this parameter, samples with 15% capsule surface. It is a positive result because the presence of cracks may
encapsulating agents showed great variation. Sample M presented the favor the entry of oxygen into the microcapsules, reducing the stability
highest luminosity due to maltodextrin, which is a light colored of betacyanin, which is sensitive to the oxidizing atmosphere (Ortiz-­
encapsulating agent; the lowest luminosity was observed for MAG, due Basurto et al., 2017).
to the presence of gum arabic; and the samples containing chia mucilage
did not show significant difference between them regarding the lumi­ 3.3. Effect of pH and temperature on stability of betacyanin
nosity, although the oven dried chia mucilage had darker coloration. microcapsules in aqueous dispersion
However, the amount used in the formulation was small (0.5%), not
interfering significantly in luminosity. Samples formulated with 10% and 15% encapsulating agents showed
For a 10% concentration of encapsulating agents, sample M had the similar behavior with respect to betacyanin released at different pHs
highest a* value, followed by the sample containing freeze dried chia (Fig. 4). In the pH range of 6–8, a higher betacyanin content in solution
mucilage. That is, there is a predominance of the color of the extract over is observed. This happened due to the encapsulating agents used, that
the encapsulating agents. However, the MAG formulation showed a high have a pH in the range of 4–5.5 in aqueous solution. When they are
value of a*, with no significant difference comparing to MCF. This dispersed higher pH solutions, increased solubility may occur, leading to
greater dye release (Bazaria & Kumar, 2017; Avadi et al., 2010;

4
J.L.D. Antigo et al. Journal of Food Engineering 285 (2020) 110101

Fig. 2. Scanning electron microscopy of samples with 10% encapsulating agents concentration: (a) M, (b) MCF, (c) MCO and (d) MAG.

Fig. 3. Scanning electron microscopy of samples with 15% encapsulating agents concentration: (a) M, (b) MCF, (c) MCO and (d) MAG.

Timilsena et al., 2016). In addition, betacyanin is stable in aqueous so­
lutions at a pH range of 6–8, contributing to the maintenance of dye
stability (Huang and ELBE, 1987).
With regard to encapsulating agents, the same behavior was
observed for all microcapsule samples. A reduced betacyanin content in
pH 4 solution, which may be due to a higher resistance of the micro­
capsules to solubility and therefore lower release of encapsulated dye. A
higher betacyanin content is observed at pHs 6 to 8, due to higher dye
release and maintenance of betacyanin stability in solution. At pH 10
there is a reduction in the betacyanin content, suggesting that there was

5
J.L.D. Antigo et al.
Fig. 4. Stability of microencapsulated betacyanin at different pHs: (a) 10% and (b) 15% of encapsulating agents.
a total release of the microcapsule dye and, at this pH, the low stability
of betacyanin resulted in its degradation in solution.
These results demonstrate the versatility of betacyanin microcap­
sules application in aqueous solutions of different pH ranges, contrib­
uting to a better preservation of the dye (>70%), and favoring its
application in various types of food.
Variations in the temperature of the medium in which the micro­
capsules were dispersed resulted in a higher betacyanin content in so­
lution for samples made with 15% encapsulating agents at low
temperatures (5 and 15 � C) and at room temperature (25 � C) when
compared with samples prepared with 10% encapsulating agents
(Fig. 5). A possible explanation for this may be the matrix characteristic
of the microcapsules produced by spray drying, where the core is
6
Journal of Food Engineering 285 (2020) 110101
dispersed in the microcapsule (Kandansamy and Somasundaram, 2012).
Therefore, the dye may be dispersed near the microcapsule surface in
samples made with 15% encapsulating agents, resulting in faster release,
whereas in samples made with 10% encapsulating agents, betacyanin
may be dispersed near the center of the capsule, promoting a slower
release.
In all formulations evaluated, the microcapsules had betacyanin
contents higher than 80% after dispersion in aqueous solution for 1 h at
temperatures of 5, 15 and 25 � C. In this case, microcapsules may be
applied in the manufacture of dairy derivatives, for example, processes
where low temperatures are used.
Increasing temperature contributes to greater solubility of encapsu­
lating agents as well as to dye degradation. The solutions with
J.L.D. Antigo et al.
Fig. 5. Stability of betacyanin microencapsulated at different temperatures: (a) 10% and (b) 15% encapsulating agents.
temperatures above 40 � C presented a significant reduction in the
betacyanin content of microcapsules made with 15% encapsulating
agents. This reduction is more significant at 60 � C and 80 � C, with a
remaining betacyanin content below 30% at a temperature of 80 � C. For
microcapsules made with 10% encapsulating agents, a significant
reduction is observed only after 60 � C, with a remaining betacyanin
content higher than 35% at 80 � C in MCF and MAG.
7
Journal of Food Engineering 285 (2020) 110101
Although the high temperature contributed to a greater release and
subsequent degradation of betacyanin in solution, the results are
promising for formulations made with 10% MCF and MAG, since they
presented remaining betacyanin contents greater than 45% and 35% for
temperatures of 60 and 80 � C, respectively. This demonstrates that
freeze-dried chia mucilage can be potentially combined with malto­
dextrin for the microencapsulation of dye by spray drying.
J.L.D. Antigo et al.
4. Conclusion
Chia mucilage was used as a potential encapsulating agent of natural
beet dye. Samples prepared with chia mucilage and maltodextrin
showed higher betacyanin loaded after spray drying than samples pre­
pared only with maltodextrin or maltodextrin and Arabic gum. When
dispersed in aqueous solutions of different pHs and temperatures, the
microcapsules showed good dye retention capacity. Finally, these results
demonstrate the applicability of betacyanin microcapsules in a range of
food processes, with temperature and pH variation, contributing to the
preservation of the dye. Samples formulated with freeze-dried chia
mucilage showed promising results in the encapsulation of food dye.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Je
�ssica Loraine D. Antigo: Writing - original draft. Ana Paula
Stafussa: Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. Rita de
Cassia Bergamasco: Conceptualization, Writing - review & editing.
Grasiele Scaramal Madrona: Supervision, Conceptualization, Writing -
original draft, Writing - review & editing.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the financial support from CAPES schol­
arship, Fundaça
~o Arauca
�ria and CNPQ.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2020.110101.
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