Potato protein: current review of structure, technological properties, and potential application on spray drying microencapsulation

Studies regarding spray drying microencapsulation are aplenty available; especially focusing on processing parameters, microparticle characteristics and encapsulation efficiency. Hence, there is a rising interest in tailoring wall materials aiming to improve the process's effectiveness. Reflecting a market trend in the food industry, plant-based proteins are emerging as alternative protein sources, and their application adaptability is an increasing research of interest related to consumers' demand for healthy food, product innovation, and sustainability. This review presents a perspective on the investigation of potato protein as a technological ingredient, considering it a nonconventional source obtained as by-product from starch industry. Furthermore, this piece emphasizes the potential application of potato protein as wall material in spray drying encapsulation, considering that this purpose is still limited for this ingredient. The literature reports that vegetal-based proteins might present compromised functionality due to processing conditions, impairing its technological application. Structural modification can offer a potential approach to modify potato protein configuration aiming to improve its utilization. Studies reported that modified proteins can perform as better emulsifiers and antioxidant agents compared to intact proteins. Hence, it is expected that their use in microencapsulation would improve process efficiency and protection of the core material, consequently delivering superior encapsulation performance.