Insights into the development of grapefruit nutraceutical powder by spray drying: physical characterization, chemical composition and 3D intestinal permeability

BACKGROUND: The development of functional and nutraceutical foods comes from a greater awareness of the relationship between food and health by consumers. In recent years, the idea of purifying and encapsulating bioactive compounds through techniques such as spray drying has been well received by the food industry. The development and characterization of a grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) nutraceutical powder obtained by spray drying is of great interest owing to the different bioactive compounds and the potential health effects. RESULTS: The grapefruit powder was characterized by a low water amount (1.5 g water per 100 g powder) and a high porosity (75%). The color parameters were L* = 80.0 ± 1.8, hₐb* = 61.7 ± 0.4 and Cₐb* = 11.4 ± 0.6. The IC₅₀ values determined for the freeze‐dried oxalic acid extract (FDOA) and the freeze‐dried methanol–water extract (FDMW) were 0.48 and 0.72 mg mL⁻¹ respectively, while the total phenolic content (TPC) ranged between 1274 and 1294 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) per 100 g dry basis (d.b.). Regarding total flavonoid content (TFC), FDOA presented the highest amount (6592 mg quercetin equivalent (QE) per 100 g d.b.). For both extracts, the cell viability in Caco‐2 and HT29‐MTX was above 90% at 100 μg mL⁻¹. The bioavailability of the bioactive compounds was analyzed through a 3D intestinal model. Delphenidin‐3‐glucoside and hesperitin‐7‐O‐glucoside presented a permeation higher than 50%, followed by hesperidin which was close to 30%. CONCLUSION: This work allows to establish that the formulation of grapefruit powder has great potential as a nutraceutical food, with spray drying being a good alternative technique in the food industry. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry