{"title":"Production of functional sugar candy enhanced with nanoemulsion of peppermint essential oil for ready-to-drink herbal tea","authors":"Elnaz Lotfi, Sajad Pirsa, Forogh Mohtarami","doi":"10.1007/s11694-025-03353-z","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study, an oil-in-water emulsion of peppermint essential oil was prepared and subsequently utilized in the formulation of functional sugar candy. The production efficiency of the peppermint essential oil emulsion was determined to be 72.6%. Structural characteristics of the resulting candies were analyzed using FTIR, SEM, and XRD techniques. Key parameters of the emulsion, including particle size, zeta potential, electrophoretic mobility, and polydispersity index (PDI), were measured at 132 nm, -36 millivolts, 0.00028 cm<sup>2</sup>/Vs, and 0.365, respectively. The addition of the emulsion significantly increased the moisture and ash content of the herbal candy. However, the clarity of the samples decreased as the concentration of the essential oil emulsion increased, and this addition resulted in a higher yellowness factor (b*). The presence of emulsified essential oil (as opposed to free essential oil) generally contributed to increased surface stickiness and texture hardness of the candies. Importantly, the antioxidant properties of the candy containing encapsulated peppermint essential oil were enhanced. Moreover, the release rate of the essential oil was significantly reduced with higher emulsion content, indicating effective stabilization of the essential oil. Against <i>Candida albicans</i>, candies containing 100% emulsified peppermint essential oil exhibited an inhibition zone of 15 mm in diameter. FTIR analysis confirmed electrostatic and physical interactions between the components of the candy. Overall, peppermint essential oil, whether free or emulsified, contributed to strengthening the crystalline structure of the candy. Sensory evaluation revealed no significant difference in overall acceptance between infusions made with free essential oil and those made with emulsified essential oil, demonstrating that the products possess notable antioxidant and antifungal properties, which may appeal to consumers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":631,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization","volume":"19 8","pages":"5769 - 5786"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11694-025-03353-z","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In this study, an oil-in-water emulsion of peppermint essential oil was prepared and subsequently utilized in the formulation of functional sugar candy. The production efficiency of the peppermint essential oil emulsion was determined to be 72.6%. Structural characteristics of the resulting candies were analyzed using FTIR, SEM, and XRD techniques. Key parameters of the emulsion, including particle size, zeta potential, electrophoretic mobility, and polydispersity index (PDI), were measured at 132 nm, -36 millivolts, 0.00028 cm2/Vs, and 0.365, respectively. The addition of the emulsion significantly increased the moisture and ash content of the herbal candy. However, the clarity of the samples decreased as the concentration of the essential oil emulsion increased, and this addition resulted in a higher yellowness factor (b*). The presence of emulsified essential oil (as opposed to free essential oil) generally contributed to increased surface stickiness and texture hardness of the candies. Importantly, the antioxidant properties of the candy containing encapsulated peppermint essential oil were enhanced. Moreover, the release rate of the essential oil was significantly reduced with higher emulsion content, indicating effective stabilization of the essential oil. Against Candida albicans, candies containing 100% emulsified peppermint essential oil exhibited an inhibition zone of 15 mm in diameter. FTIR analysis confirmed electrostatic and physical interactions between the components of the candy. Overall, peppermint essential oil, whether free or emulsified, contributed to strengthening the crystalline structure of the candy. Sensory evaluation revealed no significant difference in overall acceptance between infusions made with free essential oil and those made with emulsified essential oil, demonstrating that the products possess notable antioxidant and antifungal properties, which may appeal to consumers.
期刊介绍：
This interdisciplinary journal publishes new measurement results, characteristic properties, differentiating patterns, measurement methods and procedures for such purposes as food process innovation, product development, quality control, and safety assurance.
The journal encompasses all topics related to food property measurement and characterization, including all types of measured properties of food and food materials, features and patterns, measurement principles and techniques, development and evaluation of technologies, novel uses and applications, and industrial implementation of systems and procedures.
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