Gum arabic microcapsules as protectors of the photoinduced degradation of riboflavin in whole milk

Microcapsules (MC) made with Gum Arabic (GA) as shell material without and with beta-carotene (bc) as core material were prepared by the spray-dried technique. The effect of these MC on the photodegradation of Riboflavin (Rf) in whole milk by fluorescent daylight lamp irradiation was evaluated at storage temperature of 4 °C. The additions of 1.37 mg/mL of MC without bc (MC-GA) and with containing 0.54 microg/mL of bc (MC-bc-GA) decreased the apparent first order rate constant of Rf photodegradation by approximately 26 and 30%, respectively. A systematic kinetic and mechanistic analysis of the results indicates that the global protective effect of the MC is mainly due to thecombination of quenching of electronically excited triplet state of Rf and scavenging of the photogenerated reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as singlet molecular oxygen, superoxide radical anion and hydroxyl radical. A minor contribution to the photoprotective effect can be also associated with inner-filter effect exerted by the MC that blocks partially the direct excitation of Rf. These results allow concluding that photodegradation of Rf in milk can be considerably reduced by the addition of small amounts of MC, avoiding large losses in the nutritional value of milk.