Retention of esters by gellan and pectin solutions or their mixtures

•Retention of isomer esters by polysaccharide solutions.•The type and concentration of the polysaccharide greatly affected aroma release.•Observed order in terms of release was isobutyl acetate > butyl acetate > ethyl butyrate.

The retention of three esters (ethyl butyrate, isobutyl acetate and butyl acetate) by gellan and pectin solutions was studied. Mixtures of gellan and pectin were also investigated. Both the type and concentration of the biopolymer were important for aroma retention. The retention of ethyl butyrate was greater for pectin concentrations of 0.25–0.75%wt and gellan concentrations of 0.25 and 2.0%wt. As the concentration of the mixtures increased, its release increased. Regarding isobutyl acetate, its release decreased with increased mixture concentration as well as at the three higher gellan concentrations. Not a clear trend could be detected in the case of pectin matrices. Butyl acetate showed decreased partition coefficient values over concentration in all types and matrices. Overall, for all studied matrices isobutyl acetate showed the greatest partition coefficient values, followed by butyl acetate. The percentage of retention was also calculated and both positive and negative values were determined.

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