Curcumin encapsulation by spray drying using Aloe vera mucilage as encapsulating agent

In this work, curcumin was spray‐dried (SD) with Aloe vera mucilage as the encapsulating agent giving particular attention to the effect of the relevant process parameters (feed flow rate, atomization speed, and inlet air temperature) on the resulting properties of the SD powders. The powders obtained were analyzed by infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, rheology, and release profiles. Results show that the best drying conditions are low SD inlet air temperature (150 °C), low feed flow rate (1.5 L/hr), and high atomization speed (27,500 rpm). These conditions produced particles with smooth morphologies, preserving the total phenolic content (0.0611 μg EAG), with a radical scavenging capacity of 911.48 μmol Trolox/mg. Release profiles revealed an extended release of encapsulated material with a maximum of about 65% at 24 hr for these conditions and point out the suitability of encapsulated systems for potential applications in functional foods, antioxidant systems, pharmaceutical, and organic pigments. Practical applications This research presents an optimization method to obtain powders of mucilage (Aloe vera, Av)‐curcumin (Cu) by spray drying (SD), where the Av was used as wall material to encapsulate Cu and obtain the best process conditions (SD) to produce prolonged delivery systems of antioxidant compounds that can be used in the food and pharmaceutical industry. The encapsulated systems were analyzed by rheological tests and were supported with other characterizations, such as antioxidant capacity, morphology (SEM), chemical (FT‐IR), and releasing profiles.