Spray-Dried Whey Protein Concentrate-Iron Complex: Preparation and Physicochemical Characterization

Slaba apsorpcija željeza iz hrane i oralnih pripravaka dovodi do prekomjerne uporabe oralnih pripravaka s visokom koncentracijom željeza, što nije prihvatljivo. Odvajanjem sirutke, nusprodukta proizvodnje sira, dolazi do zagađivanja okoliša. Proteini sirutke mogu vezati veće količine željeza i time smanjiti njegovu kemijsku reaktivnost i nekompatibilnost s ostalim sastojcima hrane. Kompleksiranjem željeza s koncentratom proteina sirutke i željeza povećala se njegova kompatibilnost s ostalim sastojcima hrane. Nakon toga je centrifugiranjem i ultrafiltracijom uklonjeno slobodno i netopljivo željezo. Radi bolje iskoristivosti željeza pripremeljen je prah kompleksa koncentrata proteina sirutke i željeza postupkom sušenja raspršivanjem. Optimalni uvjeti postupka bili su: ulazna temperatura zraka od 180 °C, protok od 2,66 mL/min i ukupni udjel čvrste tvari u otopini od 15 %. Kompleks je bio stabilan pri različitim uvjetima pripreme. Biološka dostupnost željeza in vitro bila je bitno (p<0,05) veća u kompleksu nego u željezo(II) sulfatu u simuliranim uvjetima gastrointestinalnog trakta. Stoga je zaključeno da se dobiveni kompleks može sigurno upotrijebiti za obogaćivanje prehrambenih proizvoda umjesto raznih pripravaka željeza.Poor absorption of iron from food and oral iron formulations results in extensive use of high-dose oral iron, which is not tolerated. Disposal of whey, a byproduct of the cheese industry, causes environmental pollution. Whey proteins have the ability to bind significant amount of iron, thereby reducing its chemical reactivity and incompatibility with other components in foods. To make iron compatible with food, it was complexed with whey protein concentrate (WPC). After complexation, centrifugation and ultrafiltration techniques were utilised to eliminate the insoluble and free iron from the solution. To enable the availability of whey protein concentrate–iron (WPC–Fe) complex in the powder form, spray drying technique was used. Optimized spray drying conditions used for the preparation were: inlet temperature 180 °C, flow rate 2.66 mL/min and solution of total solids 15 %. The complex was observed to be stable under different processing conditions. The in vitro bioaccessibility (iron uptake) of the bound iron from the WPC–Fe complex was significantly higher (p