Evaluación de la vida útil de microencapsulados de carotenoides provenientes de desechos agroindustriales de tomate de árbol (Solanum betaceum) en la provincia de Tungurahua

Abstract

Currently, a large amount of agro-industrial waste (peels) of tree tomatoes is generated. The peels contain compounds of interest such as carotenoids, which are a source of provitamin A and have antioxidant activity. For this reason, their study has increased to treat different conditions. Three batches of extract were made with a concentration of 0.62 milligrams per liter and the extraction efficiency was 16.84 milligrams per kilogram. The microencapsulation was prepared with concentrated extract, polymers and distilled water using the mini–Spray Dryer equipment. The microencapsulation efficiency was 95 percent, and the yield percentage was 64.87. The physicochemical characterization of the extract was carried out for 15 days, using a moisture balance, the TSS was between 1.90 and 1.43 percent, pH was 4.63 and carotene concentration was between 0.56 and 0.66 milligrams per liter. The characterization of the microencapsulates was evaluated for 30 days for three batches generated, having a pH of 4.29 and a moisture percentage of less than 3. The antioxidant activity yielded values of 40.03 and 38 percent inhibition of DPPH of the extract and the microencapsulates, respectively, equivalent to 223.09 and 211.836 micro mol per liter of Trolox. The predicted shelf life was 37 days for the extracts and 74 days for the microencapsulates. The present research extracted carotenoids from agroindustrial wastes and preserved them using microencapsulation, performing physicochemical characterization tests to verify the stability of both.