Combined use of vacuum impregnation and encapsulation technologies for phenolic enrichment of strawberries

Plant-based phenolic extracts have gained significant attention in the food industry due to their antimicrobial and health-promoting effects. However, their usage is limited because of poor water solubility and instability during processing. Therefore, encapsulation of phenolics with a suitable carrier system is essential for overcoming these problems and increasing their application in food products. In this study, encapsulated phenolic extracts were used for the first time in vacuum impregnation (VI). For this purpose, different phenolic extracts (cinnamon, turmeric, pomegranate peel) were obtained from the plant source. PPE was selected because it has the highest total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, and antimicrobial activity against Botrytis cinerea. Then, PPE was encapsulated with different emulsifiers (T80, GMO, IN, WPI, and LEC). After the characterization and stability studies were performed, PPE encapsulated with T80 was used to produce a functional strawberry snack by VI technology. The results showed that the diffusion rate of EPPE was significantly increased compared to the control and PPE-VI group. EPPE-enriched strawberries were the preferred snack with high-quality characteristics.