Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization https://doi.org/10.1007/s11694-020-00629-4 ORIGINAL PAPER Application of argun fruit polysaccharide in microencapsulation of Citrus aurantium L. essential oil: preparation, characterization, and evaluating the storage stability and antioxidant activity Jalaleldeen Khaleel Mohammed 1,2,3  · Amer Ali Mahdi 1,2,4  · Chaoyang Ma 1,2  · Abdeen E. Elkhedir 5,6  · Qais Ali Al‑Maqtari 1,4,7  · Waleed Al‑Ansi 1,2,4  · Abdu Mahmud 1,8  · Hongxin Wang 1,2 Received: 9 July 2020 / Accepted: 26 August 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the influences of the partial replacement of the maltodextrin (MD) as primary wall material by argun fruit polysaccharide (AFPS) as a new promising wall material in microencapsulation of Citrus aurantium L. essential oil (CAEO). The emulsions properties, yield, microencapsulation efficiency (MEE), structural and physicochemi- cal characteristics, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), glass transition temperatures by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), crystallinity, oxidative and antioxidant stability of the freeze-dried CAEO microcapsules were investigated. The highest values of viscosity and droplet size were achieved by CAEO emulsion stabilized with GMA100 formulation. The yield and MEE of CAEO microcapsules were significantly enhanced with increasing of AFPS in the formulations. The partial replacement treatments by AFPS increased solubility, bulk density, tapped density, particle density, and porosity of the obtained microcapsules. FTIR, X-ray, DSC, and TGA techniques were confirmed that the encapsulation of CAEO was perfectly successful. The partial replacement of MD with AFPS improved the oxidative stability and antioxidant activity of microencapsulated CAEO during the storage. Depending on physicochemical properties, thermal stability, and antioxidant activity, it could be considered these microcapsules have promising applications in the functional food and medicine industry. Keywords Microencapsulation · Essential oil · Freeze-drying · Argun fruit polysaccharide · Oxidative stability · Citrus aurantium L. Introduction The species Citrus aurantium L. called as bitter and sour orange, it is a unique species with applications in phar- maceutical and cosmetics industries and most frequently used for medicinal purposes [1]. C. aurantium essential oil (CAEO) extracted from different parts revealed high amounts of limonene [2]. The peel, blossoms, and leaves of C. aurantium were used against the gastrointestinal tract dis- orders, treating tachycardia and rheumatism, and for diuretic action [1]. Many studies were focused on the production of safe products with low effects on the environment. From this side, the chemical composition, bioactivity, and microencap- sulation of citrus essential oils with potential applications in food have been investigated [3–5]. In recent years, there is more interest in essential oils (EOs) and their biological properties such as antioxidant activity and the antimicrobial effect [6, 7]. However, the exposure EOs to environmental conditions may cause loss of * Hongxin Wang hxwang@jiangnan.edu.cn 1 State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi 214122, China 2 National Engineering Research Center for Functional Food, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi 214122, China 3 Ministry of Agriculture Animal Resources and Irrigation, Khartoum state, Khartoum, Sudan 4 Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Sana’a University, Sana’a, Yemen 5 Food Institute, Industrial Research and Consultancy Centre (IRCC), Khartoum, Sudan 6 College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Shizishan Street, Wuhan 430070, Hubei, China 7 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Sana’a University, Sana’a, Yemen 8 Department of Marine Food and Biotechnology, Massawa College of Marine Science and Technology, Massawa, Eritrea