Avaliação do potencial de aplicação de carvacrol e capsaicina microencapsulados para conservação microbiana e oxidativa de hambúrguer bovino

Abstract

The deterioration of meat products represents a significant challenge for the food industry. Thus, to increase the shelf life of these products and reduce the need for synthetic preservatives, natural products with antioxidant and antimicrobial activity have been studied. Carvacrol and capsaicin are promising bioactive compounds; however, their direct application faces limitations. In this way, microencapsulation emerges as a technological solution to enhance the stability and efficiency of these compounds. The aim of this study was to produce microcapsules containing combined carvacrol and capsaicin for use in hamburger preservation during storage. For this purpose, the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of carvacrol and capsaicin was first determined, and subsequently, microcapsules were produced by the complex coacervation method using gelatin and gum arabic as wall materials. White microcapsules (WM) and microcapsules containing the active compounds (AC) were produced and characterized, and then applied to beef hamburger formulations.The results showed that carvacrol has potent in vitro antimicrobial activity (MIC of 221 μg/mL), and capsaicin has strong antioxidant action (IC50 = 29.066 μg/mL and IC50 =3.463 μg/mL) by the DPPH and ABTS methods, respectively. The microcapsules (AC) had a size of 38.57 μM, and analytical methods (HPLC and FTIR) confirmed the presence of the active compounds in the core material. When AC was applied during refrigerated hamburger storage, water activity, color, and total bacterial count did not undergo significant changes (p > 0.05). The pH of hamburgers formulated with microcapsules (WM and AC) and the control without microcapsules increased during storage (from 5.6 to 7.3). The quantification of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances at the end of storage demonstrated that hamburgers with actives (AC) experienced late antioxidant protection due to the controlled release of carvacrol and capsaicin. Thus, the microencapsulation of carvacrol and capsaicin favored their controlled release; however, at the studied concentrations, the protective microbial and lipid effects indicate the need to evaluate higher concentrations of the actives.