Development of functional ice cream using niger (Guizotia abyssinica (L.f.) Cass.) seed oil microcapsules

To meet rising customer demand, the food sector is constantly working to develop healthier functional foods. The medicinal and therapeutic properties of niger seeds are highly valued. The current study examined that the incorporation of niger seed oil microcapsules into ice cream. An ice cream mix with 14% sucrose, 10% milk fat, 0.5% emulsifier and 0.5% stabilizer was prepared. Spray-drying technique was used for the microencapsulation of niger seed oil by utilizing maltodextrin and sodium casienate, as wall materials. Both the non-encapsulated and encapsulated niger seed oil were used for incorporation into ice cream and optimized based on antioxidant activity, total phenolic contents, sensory, viscosity, overrun and hardness. The sample of ice cream with 2% niger seed oil had highest values of DPPH inhibition (88.73%) and TPC (24.23 mg GA eq./g), while the sample of ice cream possessing 1% encapsulated powder was found best in terms of sensory profile viscosity, overrun and hardness among other variants. The total polyphenolic contents increased proportionally with increasing levels of encapsulated as well as non-encapsulated niger seed oil. Therefore, niger seed oil could be used as a naturally occurring ingredient to develop a novel ice cream with high antioxidant activity.