Development of a novel functional drink from all natural ingredients using nanotechnology

•A novel functional drink was successfully developed using all natural ingredients.•Nanotechnological techniques were practically applied during the manufacturing of functional drink.•Functional drink was able to retain the antioxidant activity of encapsulated nutrients during storage.•Development of instant functional drink mix was realized by freeze-drying and spray-drying technologies.

In this work, nanotechnology was applied to formulate a novel functional drink from all natural food ingredients and a complete formulation of nutrients, including both hydrophilic and hydrophobic vitamins as well as mineral salts, was developed. Peppermint oil dissolved in propylene glycol together with fat-soluble vitamins was first emulsified in aqueous phase with sodium caseinate as natural emulsifier to obtain nanoemulsion. Then sodium caseinate was coated with pectin to form nanocomplex particles, via electro-deposition induced by pH adjustment and heating treatment. The formulations were systematically optimized in terms of various physicochemical properties, including particle size, polydispersity index, and zeta potential. The optimal formulations, which were prepared at pH 4.5, exhibited the particle size around 250 nm with PDI < 0.25, and the zeta potential of −22 mV. The functional drink was able to retain the antioxidant activity of encapsulated nutrients during storage at both refrigeration and room temperature for up to 15 days. The functional drink was also spray dried to obtain powders with excellent redispersibility in water. The present study suggest that this nanotechnology-enabled formulation is able to simultaneously incorporate both hydrophilic and hydrophobic nutrients as well as mineral salts in a single product with great potential of health-promoting benefits.

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