Lucas Oliveira Rodrigues
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Rachel Andrade de Faria
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Marcos Martins Gouvêa
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Carlos Augusto de Freitas Peregrino
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Elizabeth Valverde Macedo
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Uncaria tomentosa (Willd. ex Schult.) DC. (Cat's claw) is a plant member of the Rubiaceae family, from the Amazon region, and used in traditional medicine as raw material for phytomedicines indicated for arthritis and osteoarthritis. This study aimed to evaluate the spray drying process parameters on the properties of different extracts obtained from Uncaria tomentosa. A reduced 24-1 multifactorial design was applied to evaluate the importance of the equipment variables (pump speed, spray nozzle diameter, air inlet temperature, and atomization airflow rate) in the process. Maltodextrin and acacia gum were used as carriers in a 1:1 (m/m) ratio, considering the solid residue content of the liquid plant extract. Process yield, moisture, and hygroscopicity were evaluated as dependent variables. Higher atomization airflow rate led to higher process yield for powdered dried extracts with maltodextrin. Higher temperature led to lower moisture contents regarding powdered dried extracts with acacia gum. No variable, for any carrier, was considered significant for hygroscopicity. The best spray drying configuration for the desired characteristics (i.e. lower hygroscopicity and moisture) used the larger spray nozzle with a diameter of 1.2 mm and the higher temperature of 150 °C, with both carriers.
Optimization of spray drying process parameters for tucupi powder using the response surface methodology