Processing of encapsulated flaxseed oil‐rich banana‐based (<i>Dwarf cavendish</i>) functional fruit leather

Abstract

Abstract Banana fruit leather enriched with flaxseed oil in the form of encapsulates was prepared. Initially, the optimized conditions of 836 W power for 4 min for blanching of banana using microwave were obtained by Response Surface Methodology with residual polyphenol oxidase activity and vitamin C retention taken as responses. The addition of maltodextrin, citric acid, and pectin for blending with banana puree to obtain a non sticky puree having low pH was also optimized, while keeping the quantity of sugar constant. The blend was added with 5% encapsulates of flaxseed oil (FSO) in alginate used as wall material. The blend was dried in a tray drier at 40, 50, and 60°C and the drying behavior of the leather was studied. Henderson and Pabis model satisfactorily described the drying kinetics of banana leather. GAB model described well the sorption behavior of the leather. Fat content in the optimized leather increased to 3.27% due to addition of FSO. The ash content in the enriched leather was 5.56 ± 0.03%. Phenolic content increased from 91.84 ± 0.06 mg GAE/100 g to 100.90 ± 0.05 mg GAE/100 g for the enriched leather as compared to the control. The study revealed that the banana leather can be considered as a functional snack food due to the availability of flaxseed oil (rich in ω‐3 fatty) and high phenolic acid content. Practical Applications Banana can be processed into functional fruit leather with the addition of flaxseed oil encapsulated beads to complement the fast moving consumer goods market. Developing the banana leather by drying enhances its shelf life while encapsulation increases the stability of flaxseed oil for a prolonged storage of the product. Flaxseed oil is rich in ω‐3 fatty acid, an important bioactive compound required for good human health. Moreover, modeling of the drying behavior allows optimization of the process, which is necessary for designing of energy efficient industrial flow dryers. Therefore, this study on development of a novel functional product and drying kinetics will give a new edge to the industrial processing of similar snack products with a potential alternative to reduce the waste of banana as a raw material.

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