Physicochemical, Microbiological, Antioxidant and Sensory Characteristics of “Aguamiel” Microencapsulated by Spray Drying

The aim of this work was to obtain powders of “aguamiel” (AM) (from Agave salmiana) by spray drying using maltodextrin (MD) and Arabic gum (AG) as encapsulates. Three microencapsulated powders were obtained: Powder 1 (P1, AM/MD), Powder 2 (P2, AM/AG/MD; AG:MD, 3:1) and Powder 3 (P3, AM/MD/AG; AG:MD, 1:3) from solutions with 20% (w/w) of solutes. Powders were evaluated according to their physicochemical, antioxidant, microbiological and sensory characteristics. Powders had averages of moisture content of 2.55 ± 0.24%, water activity of 0.34 ± 0.02, and particle size of 29.84 ± 1.4 μm. It was observed that the higher the concentration of Arabic gum, the darker the powders. The physicochemical and color properties of the rehydrated powders were similar to those of fresh “aguamiel”. The microbial load, during 95 days of storage, indicated no significant changes (p > 0.05) between the initial and final values in the three powders; the highest microbial load was observed in powder P3 (6.6x103 CFU/mL and 5.9x103 CFU/mL, initial and final loads, respectively). The content of phenolics in powders P1, P2 and P3 during storage were 212.40 ± 68.22, 350.51 ± 145.00, and 266.25 ± 89.93 mg Gallic acid equivalents/100 g, respectively; the antioxidant capacity was 1,207.13 ± 109.64, 1,172.17 ± 145.80, and 1,183.34 ± 65.17 mg Trolox equivalents/100 g, respectively. According to the sensory evaluation of the rehydrated powders, the better acceptance was obtained with the P3 powder, with better physicochemical and sensorial characteristics.