Abstract

OSSA MONTOYA, Valentina; GIL, Maritza  and  CORTES, Misael. Vacuum Impregnation and its Operational Parameters: A Review. TecnoL. [online]. 2023, vol.26, n.56, e300.  Epub May 10, 2023. ISSN 0123-7799.  https://doi.org/10.22430/22565337.2605.

Nowadays, lifestyles are constantly raising awareness about the importance of healthy eating, among which is the promotion of the consumption of functional foods not only to provide a safe and complete nutrition, but also to contribute to the prevention or treatment of oxidative, inflammatory, or infectious processes, among others responsible for diseases that affect a large part of the population. One of the main challenges in the safe and effective production of functional foods is matrix engineering, which presents tools to obtain minimally processed foods by means of vacuum impregnation (IV), preserving to a great extent the ingredients with properties. For this reason, the objective of this article was to perform a systematic review of the necessary parameters to control the IV, to achieve an optimal product according to the required characteristics of the final product in order to serve as a guide for a future implementation of the technique or development of applications. The proposed methodological route consisted of the evaluation of a search equation in the Scopus reference base, followed by a download in databases such as Science Direct, MDPI, Springer Link, Wiley and Taylor & Francis Online, to be filtered with Rayyan and narrowed Vosviewer. From the analysis of the main operating parameters in the IV, it was found that the most influential parameter is the pressure applied, followed by the time elapsed at that pressure, because it can generate structural damage to the plant matrix and the unnecessary outflow of important native fluids, causing changes in the final texture and a low percentage of bioactive components. The impregnation solution should have a concentration with a similar aw to that of the matrix, in order to avoid loss of firmness. According to the findings, the predominant morphology is slices due to the exposed surface area and greater retention of the impregnated compounds, segmenting the typology of the studied fruits. In the red fruits, the peculiarity was found that the standard size of the fruit is used, possibly because its skin is not as thick and allows the IV process to be carried out normally. The impregnated components are vitamins, minerals, phenolic compounds, and flavonoids. The drying technique that best preserves the physical and chemical properties of the matrix is lyophilization.

Keywords : Functional foods; vacuum impregnation; vegetable matrix; hydrodynamic mechanism.

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