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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Molecules

Determination of the Optimal Mixture of Wall Materials for the Encapsulation of Cacao Pod Polyphenols by Spray Drying Using Response Surface Methodology

  • Liliana Esther Sotelo-Coronado1,2
  • Vincenzo Disca3
  • Armando Alvis-Bermúdez2
  1. 1Research Group in Commerce, Industry and Tourism (GICIT), Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje (SENA), Montería 230002, Córdoba, Colombia
  2. 2Grupo de Investigaciones en Propiedades y Procesos Alimentarios (GIPPAL), Food Engineering Program, Universidad de Córdoba, Montería 230002, Córdoba, Colombia
  3. 3Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “A. Avogadro”, Largo Donegani 2, 28100 Novara, Italy
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Abstract

Cacao pod husk (CPH) and cacao mucilage (CM) are abundant underutilized by-products with potential as sources and carriers of phenolic compounds. This study evaluated wall-material mixtures for the spray-drying microencapsulation of a polyphenol-rich cacao pod husk extract using an I-optimal mixture design and response surface methodology. Cacao mucilage solids, inulin, polydextrose, and sodium alginate were investigated. Process yield was the only response adequately described by the fitted model and was therefore used as the model-based response for formulation selection, whereas polyphenol recovery, encapsulation efficiency, total phenolic content, moisture content, and antioxidant capacity were evaluated experimentally. The selected formulation contained 20% CM solids, 0.65% inulin, and 79.35% polydextrose, without alginate. Experimental validation yielded a process yield of 79.93%, polyphenol recovery of 72.45%, and encapsulation efficiency of 87.95%. The resulting powder contained 4.13 mg GAE/g total polyphenols and showed an antioxidant capacity of 7.94 µg TE/g, moisture content of 3.21%, and water activity of 0.225. Microcapsules were predominantly spherical (D50 = 7.66 µm). DSC showed a Tg of 58.29 °C and additional transitions but did not establish a definitive thermal-stability limit. The findings support cacao by-products as functional spray-dried powders with low initial moisture and water activity in a circular-economy approach.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{sotelocoronado2026determination,
  title = {{Determination of the Optimal Mixture of Wall Materials for the Encapsulation of Cacao Pod Polyphenols by Spray Drying Using Response Surface Methodology}},
  author = {Liliana Esther Sotelo-Coronado and Vincenzo Disca and Armando Alvis-Bermúdez},
  journal = {Molecules},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3390/molecules31213897},
  url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/21/3897},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Determination of the Optimal Mixture of Wall Materials for the Encapsulation of Cacao Pod Polyphenols by Spray Drying Using Response Surface Methodology
AU  - Liliana Esther Sotelo-Coronado
AU  - Vincenzo Disca
AU  - Armando Alvis-Bermúdez
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/28
JO  - Molecules
DO  - 10.3390/molecules31213897
UR  - https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/21/3897
AB  - Cacao pod husk (CPH) and cacao mucilage (CM) are abundant underutilized by-products with potential as sources and carriers of phenolic compounds. This study evaluated wall-material mixtures for the spray-drying microencapsulation of a polyphenol-rich cacao pod husk extract using an I-optimal mixture design and response surface methodology. Cacao mucilage solids, inulin, polydextrose, and sodium alginate were investigated. Process yield was the only response adequately described by the fitted model and was therefore used as the model-based response for formulation selection, whereas polyphenol recovery, encapsulation efficiency, total phenolic content, moisture content, and antioxidant capacity were evaluated experimentally. The selected formulation contained 20% CM solids, 0.65% inulin, and 79.35% polydextrose, without alginate. Experimental validation yielded a process yield of 79.93%, polyphenol recovery of 72.45%, and encapsulation efficiency of 87.95%. The resulting powder contained 4.13 mg GAE/g total polyphenols and showed an antioxidant capacity of 7.94 µg TE/g, moisture content of 3.21%, and water activity of 0.225. Microcapsules were predominantly spherical (D50 = 7.66 µm). DSC showed a Tg of 58.29 °C and additional transitions but did not establish a definitive thermal-stability limit. The findings support cacao by-products as functional spray-dried powders with low initial moisture and water activity in a circular-economy approach.
SN  - 1420-3049
ER  -