Applied Food Research (Dec 2024)
Release behaviour of flavour filled yeast cells produced with the concentrated powder form technology
Abstract
Cells of spent brewer's yeast represent a natural and sustainable material for the encapsulation of aroma compounds. Although the usability of yeast cells as microcapsules was proven decades ago, respective technologies are not established in the market. The conventional production method involves the suspension of yeast and aroma oil in water. Resulting mixtures have a poor processability, which likely contributes to the lack of industrial interest. Production of flavour filled cells without the suspension step is possible using the concentrated powder form technology. In the given work, this high-pressure spraying process was used to fabricate a dry powder of yeast cells containing 15 wt% limonene. The release behaviour in different model matrices was investigated to predict the applicability in food products. Immediate or prolonged release was observed depending on the media composition. Water was confirmed as the main release trigger. The fabricated yeast capsules can serve as a controlled release system.