Cyclodextrin Encapsulation to Prevent the Loss of l-Menthol and its Retention during Drying

Abstract

  The taste and flavor of spray-dried powdered products are the most important quality factors. In the present study, molecular encapsulation in cyclodextrin was applied to prevent the loss of a hydrophobic flavor compound (l-menthol) during the drying of a droplet. β-Cyclodextrin appeared to be a better encapsulant for menthol than α- and γ-cyclodextrin. The retention of menthol increased with increasing concentration of both cyclodextrin and maltodextrin. A simple mathematical model is proposed for estimating the flavor retention. The theoretical results by this model estimated well the final retention of menthol encapsulated in a blend of β-cyclodextrin and maltodextrin.