Nanoencapsulation of Spirulina sp. LEB 18 microalgae biomass using electrospray technique and application in chocolate milk

Chocolate powder is a widely consumed food, but it has a high sugar content. Spirulina microalgae contains high nutritional value and can be used to enrich foods. However, microalgae has strong sensory characteristics. To add it to food, it is necessary to hide these characteristics, such as through nanoencapsulation. Therefore, the objective of this work was to develop nanospheres with Spirulina biomass by nanoencapsulation and apply them in chocolate milk. This nanospheres were produced through the electrospraying technique, with chitosan and Spirulina. The best parameters to produce nanospheres were a polymeric solution with 0.50 % chitosan, electric potential of 24 kV, and capillary diameter of 0.70 mm. These resulted in more uniform nanoparticles without the presence of a residual solvent. Nanospheres with Spirulina sp. LEB 18 are stable up to approximately 200 °C. Chocolate milk containing nanospheres with Spirulina was formulated to contain 5 % Spirulina, which increased the protein content by 16.3 %, lipids by 88.9 % and ash by 33.9 % in this food compared to the control. It received an average score of 6.9 in the sensory analysis and had a public acceptance rate of 76.3 %. By incorporating 300 mL of chocolate milk containing nanospheres with Spirulina into school meals, children up to 5 years old (weighing approximately 18 kg) meet their daily protein requirement in a single serving.