Effect of temperature on the stability of Cosmos bippinatus

Abstract

Color is one of the most important attributes, especially in the food industry. Currently, alternative sources are being sought to obtain plant pigments, due to their bioactive properties. Cosmos bipinnatus is a plant known for its high anthocyanins content, molecules that give it color and have antioxidant properties. However, once they are extracted from the plant matrix, they present instability problems, which is why their protection is necessary. In this work, the extraction of C. bipinnatus pigments was carried out, which were encapsulated by freeze-drying as a protection method. During encapsulation, two wall materials (gum arabic (GA) and maltodextrin (M)) were evaluated alone and in combination. The microencapsulates were characterized to determine the encapsulation efficiency and performance. In addition, pigment release kinetics were carried out at three temperatures (4 °C, 25 °C, and 65 °C) to find the conditions at which the pigments are best preserved. It was found that encapsulation by freezedrying is an efficient method, with no significant difference when the materials are used alone or combined, and that the plant pigments obtained from C. bipinnatus (PPCb) are better preserved at temperatures below 25°C.