Oxidative stability and in vitro release behaviour of microencapsulated Antarctic krill oil and fish oil: The effect of lipid class composition

Antarctic krill oil (AKO) and fish oil (FO) were microencapsulated by a pilot-scale spray dryer in this study. The effect of lipid class compositions on the encapsulation properties of the obtained microcapsules was investigated. The particle size distribution of both microcapsules ranged from 29.23 ± 2.20 to 36.79 ± 3.45 μm, and the moisture content and water activity (a_w) also indicated that both AKO and FO microcapsules were suitable for long-term storage. Interestingly, differences in lipid composition affected the microstructure of the microcapsules formed, thereby affecting their oxidative stability and digestive behaviour. Compared with FO microcapsules, the surface microstructure of PLs-enriched microcapsules (AKO microcapsules) was smoother, endowing it better oxidative stability and higher DHA (72.13 ± 2.32% vs. 63.08 ± 2.98%) and EPA (75.94 ± 1.43% vs. 68.26 ± 2.98%) bioaccessibility. These findings may have important implications for the development of microcapsules formulated with different lipid classes in the food industry.