Fortification of apricot nectar with nano-emulsified α-tocopherol

Apricot; is a nutricious fruit due to; sugars, fiber, carotenoids such as β-carotene, lycopene and β-cryptoxanthine, phenolic compounds, pectin, vitamins and minerals it contains. Turkey, is the world's largest producer of Apricot and gain an important input from this production. Most of the apricots produced in our country are evaluated by drying, and a significant portion of the rest is consumed as fresh or processed into fruit nectar. In this study, it was aimed to enrich apricot nectar with α-tocopherol (vitamin E). Apricot fruit is poor in vitamin E and due to its low solubility in water, it is not possible to add this vitamin to fruit nectar directly. In order to meet this technological need, α-tocopherol nanoemulsions were prepared by using food grade surfactants namely polyoxyethylene sorbitan derivatives (Tween 20, Tween 40, Tween 60, Tween 80) and added to apricot puree to produce apricot nectar. In emulsion manufacture stage; the effect of type and concentration of surfactant and sonication time on; loading capacity, stability, particle size and charge were determined. α-Tocopherol loading capacity was determined by HPLC analysis and the highest value was measured in the 4 min sonicated sample that was prepared in the presence of 0.4% Tween-20. The smallest particle diameter was also obtained in Tween-20 (145.7 nm) sample. The α-tocopherol fortified apricot nectars prepared with different Tween types were passed through 3-stage GIT model and the bioaccessibility of α-tocopherol and β-carotene was determined. According to the results, it was determined that all Tween containing samples had higher bioaccessibility compared to the control sample and the highest values were measured in Tween-20 sample. The Tween-20 sample also showed higher results in the bioaccessibility of β-carotene compared to other samples and control. In conclusion, it was observed that in the presence of very low levels of food grade surfactants in apricot nectar, the physical stabilization of the added α-tocopherol could be achieved and the bioaccessibility of both α-tocopherol and β-carotene was improved.