LAUSR

Abstract Lactose and sodium caseinate were used as wall materials in microencapsulation of fish oil by spray drying. Thyme, rosemary, and laurel extracts were utilized to enhance oxidative stability. Efficiency of antioxidant capacity of plant extracts was compared with BHT. Fish oil encapsulates with rosemary extract exhibited better protection against lipid oxidation (0.36 mmol MDA/kg) than the control group (2.92 mmol MDA/kg) at +4 °C. Hue angle properties of encapsulated fish oil with the laurel extract showed the highest change. The lowest peroxide value (PV) was detected in the 1500 ppm rosemary group (5.13 mEq O2/kg oil) and 250 ppm BHT group (5.90 mEq O2/kg oil) after the spray drying. Also, these groups had the lowest TBARs values during the storage. It was observed that the pAV of CG2 (BHT Control), RE1 (1000 ppm rosemary extract), RE2 (1500 ppm rosemary extract), and LE2 (1500 ppm laurel extract) groups remained below six during 8 months of storage. Volatile components of encapsulated fish oil were the highest in control, thyme and laurel extracts compared to the microcapsules with rosemary extracts in terms of total aldehyde generation. Sensory analysis showed that fresh fish odor was better preserved with rosemary extract compared to other plant extracts. It was concluded that microencapsulation of fish oil with sodium caseinate and lactose as wall material and rosemary and laurel extracts as antioxidants enhanced the oxidative stability of the microcapsules.