LAUSR

Tyrosol, a powerful antioxidant present in high amounts in olive oil and mill wastes, possesses relevant health benefits due to its antioxidant properties. Therefore, tyrosol is a promising compound for further incorporation in functional foods. However, its incorporation in food matrices is limited due to its hydrophilicity. Therewith, encapsulation by double emulsion solvent evaporation emerges as an alternative for its protection and incorporation in lipophilic matrices, as some foods. This work aimed to encapsulate tyrosol in alternative carriers—poly(D,L-lactide- co -glycolide), ethylcellulose, and polycaprolactone, using two theoretical loading contents (TLC) (5% and 10% w / w ). Tyrosol was efficiently incorporated in the selected polymer-carriers. Significant effects of the TLC were found on the product yield, encapsulation efficiency, thermal stability, morphology, and on the particle size distribution. This is the first study regarding the encapsulation of tyrosol and brings new insights concerning the encapsulation of antioxidants for further incorporation in food matrices.