Sardinelle protein isolate as a novel material for oil microencapsulation: Novel alternative for fish by-products valorisation

Abstract The present study investigates the potential of sardinelle protein isolate (SrPI) combined to maltodextrin (MD), at different ratios ((1:0, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 and 1:4, w/w), as wall matrix to stabilize and encapsulate corn oil (1:2, oil/ wall ratio). Emulsions were prepared by homogenization followed by sonication treatment and then dried by the spray-drying process. The obtained microcapsules were characterized regarding the encapsulation efficiency (EE), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermodynamic analyses (thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)). Data revealed that the combination of SrPI and MD resulted in very high EE compared to SrPI used alone as wall material, and the EE increased with the amount of MD incorporated to the SrPI solution. SEM images showed the production of irregular and larger particles with the increase of MD concentration. Moreover, TGA showed that microparticles obtained by 1:4 w/w ratio (SrPI/MD) revealed the highest protection of corn oil. Thus, these findings revealed the effectiveness of SrPI and MD mixture to encapsulate and protect corn oil, which offered a promote application for food and pharmaceutical industries.