Fabrication and saltiness enhancement of salt hollow particles by interface migration

The morbidity of the chronic diseases such as the hypertension and cardiovascular diseases has been increasing in recent decades. The unhealthy diet with excessive salt intake is one of the proegumenal causes. In this research, spherical hollow salt particles with high specific surface area and durable ginger flavor were prepared as a seasoning powder for salt reduction and saltiness enhancement in solid foods. The amphiphilic gum arabic (GA), soy hull polysaccharides (SHP) and their emulsions containing ginger essential oil were used to induce the NaCl to migrate to the droplet surface with the technique of spray drying. The formation mechanism, microstructure, size distribution, powder properties and sensory evaluation of the hollowed salt particles were investigated. It was found that both the SHP and its emulsion showed excellent interfacial activity at air/water (A/W) interface, resulting in good interface migration of the solutes to the droplet surface; therefore, salt particles with desired spherical hollow architecture were obtained. Whereas the formations of hollow salt particles in the samples of GA and its emulsion were worse due to their poor interfacial activities. The salt hollow particles prepared with SHP emulsions were monodisperse and had the smallest particle size (9.7 ± 0.3 μm). Their powder properties including flowability, solubility and adhesiveness showed the best among the samples. It was proved by the sensory evaluation that these salt particles received the highest score and exerted effective function in saltiness enhancement and flavor retaining. These findings could provide a new strategy for salt reduction in solid foods.