Surfactant-free solid dispersion of fat-soluble flavour in an amorphous sugar matrix

•Amorphised sugar was over-dissolved in organic media much above its solubility.•Fat-soluble flavour and sugar were co-dried from organic media into an amorphous mixture.•Sugar-based solid dispersion of flavouring agent was obtained without using surfactant.•Maltose-based solid dispersion highly retained flavouring agent in drying and storage.

A solid dispersion technique to homogeneously disperse hydrophobic ingredients in a water-soluble solid without using surfactant was examined as follows: first, freeze-dried amorphous sugar was dissolved in an organic medium that contained a soluble model hydrophobic component. Second, the mixed solution of sugar and the model hydrophobic component was vacuum dried into a solid (solid dispersion). Methanol and six fat-soluble flavours, including cinnamaldehyde, were used as organic media and model hydrophobic components. The retention of flavours in the solid dispersion during drying and storage under vacuum was evaluated. The amorphised disaccharides dissolved in methanol up to 100 mg/mL, even temporarily (20 s to 10 days) and could be solidified without any evidence of crystallisation and segregation from flavour. The solid dispersion, prepared using α-maltose usually showed 65–95% flavour retention during drying (and storage for cinnamaldehyde), whereas ⩾50% of the flavour was lost when the flavour was O/W emulsified with a surfactant and then freeze-dried with sugar.