Encapsulation of red araçá (Psidium cattleianum Sabine) peel extract: characterization and quantification of bioactive compounds

Abstract Red araçá is a fruit rich in bioactive compounds, mainly anthocyanins. This study aimed to encapsulate the anthocyanin extract from red araçá peel using maltodextrin and gum arabic as encapsulating agents in five formulations, and freeze-drying and spray-drying as drying methods. Freeze-drying with maltodextrin showed the highest retention efficiency (98.86%) and encapsulation of anthocyanins (38.63%), while spray drying resulted in lower retention and encapsulation values ​​(80.87% and 33.45%, respectively). The addition of gum arabic reduced both encapsulation and retention efficiency. Freeze-drying extracts exhibited higher moisture and water activity compared to spray-drying extracts. Solubility was above 75% for all samples, and hygroscopicity was higher in spray-drying (16.57 to 19.33%). Color analysis revealed higher saturation and redder coloration in freeze-drying encapsulated extracts, especially in formulations with higher maltodextrin content. Freeze-drying also favored the retention of phenolic compounds. The antioxidant activity varied among the formulations, being higher in the samples containing Arabic gum, which showed greater DPPH inhibition percentages and lower IC 50 values, regardless of the drying method. Results indicate that the choice of encapsulation method and agents can optimize both bioactive compound retention and antioxidant activity of the encapsulates.