Microencapsulation of Green Tea Polyphenol Extract

Microencapsulation is an enduring technology for protection and controlled release of food ingredients. Spray drying is a well-established method for converting liquid foodinto a dry powder form and it is one of the most common and economical method employed for microencapsulation. In this study the polyphenols from Green tea leaves (Camellia sinensis) is extactracted using hot water extraction and the extract was spray dried and encapsulated by skimmed milk powder, whey protein isolate and maltodextrin as wall materials. Then encapsulates were analysed for moisture content, powder morphology, solubility, encapsulation efficiency (based on total polyphenols of extract and encapsulates) and antioxidant activity. It was found that whey protein isolate encapsulates exhibited higher encapsulation efficiency and antioxidant activity.