In this study, the influence of encapsulation process conditions on the physical properties and chemical composition of encapsulated pumpkin seed oil was investigated. Four variants of encapsulated oil were prepared: spray-dried non-homogenized emulsions at the inlet temperatures of 180 and 130 °C, spray-dried homogenized emulsion at the inlet temperature of 130 °C, and freeze-dried homogenized emulsion. The emulsion was prepared by mixing 10.6% oil with 19.8% wall materials (15.9% maltodextrin + 0.5% guar gum + 3.9% whey protein concentrate) and 69.6% distilled water. The quality of encapsulated pumpkin seed oil was evaluated by encapsulation efficiency, surface oil, total oil and moisture contents, flowing properties, color, and size. Additionally, fatty acid composition, pigment characteristics, and the content of bioactive compounds (tocopherols, squalene, and sterols) were determined. Changes of these components after the encapsulation process in comparison to the control pumpkin seed oil were considered as stability parameters. The highest encapsulation efficiency was obtained by spray-drying at the inlet temperature of 130 °C. Generally, the spray-drying process had a positive effect upon the physical parameters of encapsulated pumpkin seed oil but results were dependent on process conditions. The higher inlet temperature generated more surface oil, but capsules obtained at the lower temperature were greater in size and more deformed. Although freeze-drying proceeded at a very low temperature, the powder obtained with this technique was characterized by the highest bioactive compound losses (with the exception of sterols) and the lowest stability. The homogenization process applied before spray-drying affected greater polyunsaturated fatty acid, squalene, and pigment degradation. In conclusion, results of the study showed that the spray-drying non-homogenized emulsion was a more recommendable technique for the encapsulation of pumpkin seed oil because of smaller changes of native compounds and better oxidative stability.

In recent years, new products obtained from amaranth seeds have entered the food market including expanded “popping” seeds and flakes. Lipids and biologically-active substances dissolved in these products are susceptible to changes. Additionally, due to the fact that fat quality has high dietary importance, there is a need to conduct detailed quality and quantity studies on the lipid composition of Amaranthus cruentus

Amaranth seeds and their main product amaranth oil are a rich source of bioactive substances. The non-saponifiable substances which accompany lipids include: squalene, tocopherols, sterols and others. The aim of the study was to compare the content of squalene, tocopherols and phytosterols in...

An in vivo experiment was conducted to determine the effect of sea-buckthorn pulp oil feeding on the fatty acid composition of liver and adipose tissue of Wistar rats and the liver accumulation of retinol, its esters and α-tocopherol. For a period of 28 days, rats were given a modified casein diet (AIN-93) in which sea-buckthorn pulp oil, soybean oil and pork lard were used as sources of fat. Compared to the other fat sources, sea-buckthorn pulp oil was the most abundant in C16 fatty acids, carotenoids (mainly β-carotene) and tocopherols (mainly α-tocopherol). Its consumption was reflected in an increased share of palmitoleic acid in adipose tissue and the liver and an increased level of retinol in liver tissues (this was not observed for its esters). Although the type of fat did not have a significant effect on the average content of α-tocopherol in the liver, the variation of saturation of this tissue with α-tocopherol was the lowest when rats were fed a diet containing sea-buckthorn oil. This experiment indicates the possibility of affecting adipose tissue and liver by a diet.