Natural extracts from paprika and cinnamon, combined using a proprietary technique, formed orange lipid microparticles with two important properties. The first was the ability to maintain pigments called carotenoids for up to 49 days when kept at room temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius (°C) or refrigerated at 5 °C. Carotenoids are widely used as natural food colorings, but they degrade easily under the influence of light, oxygen, and temperature. “The number of carotenoids on day 49 was the same as recorded on day 1, regardless of whether the powder was kept at room temperature or refrigerated,” food engineer Fernanda Ramalho Procópio of the University of Campinas (UNICAMP), told Agência FAPESP. Procópio participated in the study in partnership with the Food Research Center (FoRC), one of the Research, Innovation, and Dissemination Centers (RIDCs) funded by FAPESP. The second property was its antimicrobial and antifungal action. A number of applications are being studied, such as soy protein films used to protect foods (Food and Bioprocess Technology, October 2022 and May 2023).
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