Salvia hispanica mucilage-alginate properties and performance as an encapsulation matrix for chia seed oil

The present study aimed at evaluating the potential of Salvia hispanica mucilage combination with alginate as wall materials in the encapsulation of vegetable oil by external ionic gelation, in order to maximize encapsulation efficiency and minimize lipid oxidation. Salvia hispanica mucilage was mixed with alginate at a 50:50 ratio. A 2³ factorial model was used to evaluate the effects of the concentration of mucilage-alginate, the concentration of calcium chloride as crosslinking agent and the crosslinking time. The best encapsulation efficiency (82.92 ± 2.23%) was obtained at a polymers concentration of 2% (w/v), a calcium chloride concentration of 2% (w/v) and a crosslinking time of 20 min. Obtained capsules were spherical, non-aggregated and uniform in diameter (1.83 ± 0.17 cm). During the oxidative stability study, mucilage-alginate combination protected oil against lipid oxidation. Salvia hispanica mucilage could be used as a wall material for high oil content capsules to improve their stability. Practical applications: Components naturally present in vegetable oils have been shown to have beneficial properties. Recent studies suggesting that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation could be helpful against many inflammatory diseases. The incorporation of functional ingredients into a given food system and the processing and handling of such foods are associated with nutritional challenges for their healthy delivery. The extreme sensitivity of oils to oxidation can easily lead to the development of off-flavours and cause significant losses in product quality, stability, nutritional value and bioavailability, as well as the overall acceptability. Encapsulation constitutes an economical technology to stabilize oils. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the potential of S. hispanica mucilage combined with alginate as alternative material for encapsulation of S. hispanica oil by external ionic gelation.