Amorphization and microencapsulation of
β
‐carotene with improved physical stability and bioaccessibility for emulsion‐based
3D
printing
Jie Zhan, Bing Xia, Zongao Jia, Feiyan Cao, Liang Zhang Abstract
Background
β‐ Carotene is widely used as a natural colorant and nutritional ingredient, but its poor water dispersibility, high crystallinity and low stability limit its application in functional foods and three‐dimensional (3D)‐printed food systems. In this study, a solvent‐free hot‐melt/quenching strategy was combined with wet milling and spray drying to fabricate amorphous β‐ carotene microcapsules using octenyl succinic anhydride‐modified starch (OSA‐starch) and trehalose as wall materials.
Results
Hot‐melt/quenching treatment effectively transformed crystalline β ‐carotene into an amorphous state, and the optimal condition was determined as 220 °C for 22 s followed by liquid nitrogen quenching. Compared with crystalline β ‐carotene microcapsules, amorphous β ‐carotene microcapsules showed reduced crystallinity and improved encapsulation behavior. The incorporation of trehalose into the OSA‐starch wall matrix further decreased particle aggregation, improved redispersibility and enhanced storage stability. After 40 days of storage, amorphous β ‐carotene microcapsules prepared with the OSA‐starch/trehalose composite wall materials (AB‐Tre) retained 82.2% and 58.9% of β ‐carotene at 25 °C and 55 °C, respectively, which were higher than those of the other formulations. During in vitro digestion, AB‐Tre showed better colloidal stability and higher β ‐carotene bioaccessibility than crystalline β ‐carotene microcapsules prepared with the OSA‐starch/trehalose composite wall materials (CB‐Tre). Furthermore, AB‐Tre‐loaded high internal phase emulsions showed good printability and could be used to fabricate customized 3D structures.
Conclusion
The combination of hot‐melt‐induced amorphization and OSA‐starch/trehalose microencapsulation provides an effective strategy to improve the stability, bioaccessibility and 3D printing applicability of β ‐carotene. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.