  Citation: Roman, D.; Condurache (Laz˘ ar), N.N.; St ˘ anciuc, N.; Andronoiu, D.G.; Aprodu, I.; Enachi, E.; Barbu, V.; Bahrim, G.E.; Stanciu, S.; Râpeanu, G. Advanced Composites Based on Sea Buckthorn Carotenoids for Mayonnaise Enrichment. Polymers 2022, 14, 548. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/polym14030548 Academic Editors: Oana L. Pop, Ramona Suharoschi and Dan Cristian Vodnar Received: 17 December 2021 Accepted: 26 January 2022 Published: 28 January 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). polymers Article Advanced Composites Based on Sea Buckthorn Carotenoids for Mayonnaise Enrichment Diana Roman, Nina Nicoleta Condurache (Lazăr) , Nicoleta Stănciuc, Doina Georgeta Andronoiu, Iuliana Aprodu , Elena Enachi , Vasilica Barbu , Gabriela Elena Bahrim , Silvius Stanciu * and Gabriela Râpeanu * Department of Food Science, Food Engineering, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Faculty of Food Science and Engineering, Dunărea de Jos University of Galati, 800008 Galati, Romania; diana.roman@ugal.ro (D.R.); nina.condurache@ugal.ro (N.N.C.); nicoleta.stanciuc@ugal.ro (N.S.); georgeta.andronoiu@ugal.ro (D.G.A.); iuliana.aprodu@ugal.ro (I.A.); elena.ionita@ugal.ro (E.E.); vasilica.barbu@ugal.ro (V.B.); gabriela.bahrim@ugal.ro (G.E.B.) * Correspondence: silvius.stanciu@ugal.ro (S.S.); gabriela.rapeanu@ugal.ro (G.R.) Abstract: This study aimed at the extraction and encapsulation of the carotenoids from sea buckthorn fruits and obtaining value-added mayonnaise. First, the carotenoids from sea buckthorn fruits were extracted using ultrasound-assisted extraction. Then, they were microencapsulated through complex coacervation and freeze-drying techniques using different wall material combinations. Two powders were obtained and analyzed in terms of encapsulation efficiency, total carotenoid content, antioxidant activity, stability of phytochemicals and color, morphological structure, and in vitro digestibility. All results pointed out that the carotenoid molecules were successfully encapsulated within the mixture of alginate, agar, and chitosan, with a 61.17 ± 0.89% encapsulation efficiency. To probe the functionality, the powder was added into mayonnaise in 2.5% and 5% amounts. The obtained mayonnaise samples were characterized in terms of phytochemical and antioxidant activity properties with their storage stability and texture, color, and sensory characteristics. A significant increase of total carotenoid content and antioxidant activity compared to the control sample was observed. The addition of powder also led to improved texture by increasing the firmness and adhesion. In addition, the sensory evaluation indicated an improved color and overall acceptability of the value-added mayonnaise. Thus, sea buckthorn extracts may be considered as valuable ingredients for the development of added-value food products. Keywords: sea buckthorn; carotenoids; microencapsulation; coacervation; mayonnaise; functional food 1. Introduction The increasing occurrence of severe illnesses and their discovery in critical stages have led people to be more careful about food, sports, and health in general. Cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity are diseases that people suffer from the most. These conditions are mainly based on negligence in terms of lifestyle but are also due to heredity or other factors [1]. Therefore, in recent years, efforts have been made to raise public awareness of proper nutrition and the importance of exercise. Due to this, there has been an increase in the market demand for healthy, functional foods. Banwo et al. [1] define functional food as a product full of compounds with biological and physiological activities that have the ability to interact with one or more components from living tissue and thus provide a wide range of potential health effects. These bio- logically active compounds usually refer to those produced by plants through primary and secondary metabolism. For some time now, most studies have focused on the second one. These products of secondary metabolism comprise compounds with essential roles in metabolism, photosynthesis, development, defense, and protection from photo-oxidative Polymers 2022, 14, 548. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14030548 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/polymers