Effect of Wall Materials on Microencapsulation of Lime Oil (Citrus latifolia)

Lime essential oil (Citrus latifolia) is recognized as a valuable natural product due to its rich content of bioactive compounds; however, its inherent volatility and susceptibility to degradation by external factors such as heat, light, and oxygen raise significant challenges to its stability and quality. This study evaluated the influence of various wall substances (maltodextrin:whey, maltodextrin:Tween 80, maltodextrin:gum arabic, and maltodextrin alone) on the efficiency of microencapsulation via spray drying, as well as on the antioxidant and antifungal activities of the resultant microencapsulated lime essential oil. The experimental findings showed that the selection of wall material significantly affects the measured quality parameters of the microencapsulated powder, including encapsulation efficiency, physicochemical properties, and antioxidant capacity. Moreover, wall mixtures comprising maltodextrin:gum arabic and maltodextrin:whey consistently yielded superior microencapsulation efficiencies. Furthermore, the essential oil encapsulated with the maltodextrin:gum arabic mixture demonstrated potent antifungal activity against Fusarium equiseti, maintaining its inhibitory efficacy of over 50% for up to 96 hours. Concurrently, the essential oil encapsulated with the maltodextrin:whey wall mixture exhibited the most favorable antioxidant activity, achieving a DPPH scavenging capacity of 28.49%. Research results showed that Citrus latifolia essential oil after encapsulation has good antioxidants and antifungal activities, making it very suitable for use in food preservation or post-harvest technology. Keywords: Citrus latifolia, essential oil, microencapsulation, antioxidant, antifungal, Fusarium equiseti.