Maltodextrin as a carrier of health benefit compounds in Satureja montana dry powder extract obtained by spray drying technique Senka S. Vidović ⁎, Jelena Z. Vladić, Žužana G. Vaštag, Zoran P. Zeković, Ljiljana M. Popović Faculty of Technology, Bulevar Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia abstract article info Article history: Received 16 December 2013 Received in revised form 7 March 2014 Accepted 8 March 2014 Available online 16 March 2014 Keywords: Spray drying Powders: Satureja montana Hygroscopicity Essential oil Sensor properties In this study, the spray drying process of S. montana liquid extract was investigated. The influence of maltodextrin (as a carrier and drying agent) in concentrations of 10%, 30% and 50% on the following parameters was analyzed: production yield, obtained powder properties (hygroscopicity, bulk density, WSI and WAI), sensory properties and the content of beneficial health compounds. In all powders, moisture content was similar and lower than 5%. Powder obtained using 50% of maltodextrin showed the highest bulk density (138.0 mg/ml), the highest WSI (90.55%) and the lowest hygroscopicity. Dry powder, obtained using 10% of maltodextrin, showed the highest content of total phenols (153.61 mg/g), total flavonoids (118.69 mg/g), essential oil (1.2%) and carvacrol (902.52 mg/100 g), as well as the highest antioxidant activity (IC 50 = 5.2394 μg/ml), while ACE inhibition was similar to the other two powders. Sensory properties of S. montana powders were evaluated using two different tests. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Satureja montana L. belongs to a very important family of medicinal plants known as the Lamiaceae family. This medicinal herb is widely spread in the Balkan region, and is commonly called winter savory. S. montana contains various biologically active constituents such as es- sential oils, tannins, triterpenes and flavonoids [1]. The main phenolic compounds of its essential oil are thymol and carvacrol. However, Ibraliu et al. [2] reported the difference in chemical composition of S. montana collected from different regions in Albania. The content of thymol in the essential oils of S. montana, collected from different re- gions in Albania, varied from 0.38 to 27.29% [2]. Due to its pharmacolog- ically important chemical composition S. montana and its extracts possess important biological activities. The significant antioxidative po- tential of S. montana extracts was confirmed on oxidative stress bio- markers, in vitro [3]. Diuretic effects were also investigated in vitro [4]. Experiments confirmed that, besides antioxidative and antiprolifer- ative effects, S. montana has an anti-inflammatory effect on cultured human cells and an important anti-HIV-1 activity [5,6]. Regarding the previous information, this medicinal plant and its extracts are consid- ered to have a significant importance in pharmacy and medicine. An increasing number of cosmetic and food industries currently in- sist on using naturally occurring compounds in addition to existing health enhancing ingredients in their products. Other factors that are equally important to these industries in their product development are easy processing, handling, production, transportation as well as cost effectiveness and product stability. Many of these requirements can be achieved in the form of a spray dried powder extract. The high content of sensitive and health beneficial compounds is one of the most important characteristics of powders. Compared to other forms of plant extracts, spray dried extracts are easily transported, handled and reduced in bulk size since they possess high stability. All these char- acteristics are responsible for an increased interest in the use of such dry powders. Transformation of liquid extract into the dry powder extract can be accomplished using the spray drying technique — a powerful tool for delivering cost-effective and high quality ingredients. Spray drying consists of four separate process stages: atomization of feed, spray-air contact, drying, and separation of the dried product from the drying air [7]. During atomization of the fluid into the drying cham- ber, the liquid droplets pass through a hot-air stream. The purpose of such a method is to produce a spray containing droplets with high surface-to-mass ratio and to uniformly and quickly evaporate the water [7]. The drying process of such droplets is very rapid with an in- tensive moisture evaporation at the surface of the droplets, which keeps the droplets cool until the dry state is reached [8]. This is the rea- son why this technique is suitable for drying heat sensitive products [9]. During spray drying, and later, during storage, the occurrence of stickiness is the main problem of such product process or in the product's further use. The term stickiness refers to the particle–particle stickiness called cohesion (causing agglomerate formation) and parti- cle–wall stickiness called adhesion (causing formation of wall deposits). Basically, the cohesion and adhesion of powder depends on the content of low molecular sugar and the temperature of the product. The glass transition temperature (Tg) is the main characteristic transformation temperature of amorphous product like powders [10]. Low molecular Powder Technology 258 (2014) 209–215 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +381 21 485 3731; fax: +381 21 450 413. E-mail address: senka.curcin@yahoo.com (S.S. Vidović). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.powtec.2014.03.038 0032-5910/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Powder Technology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/powtec