Influence of gum arabic and homogenization process on the physicochemical stability of strawberry suspensions

The generation of value from the strawberry agro-chain requires in some cases the disintegration of the structure and formulation of the fruit, resulting in suspensions that behave as thermodynamically unstable colloidal systems and are affected by various forces, such as Van der Waals, electrostatic, steric, hydration, hydrophobic, and phase separation. The aim of this research was to evaluate the influence of the homogenization process and the concentration of gum arabic (GA) on the stability of strawberry-based suspensions. Strawberries with a 9% solid content were used and a centralized-composite central design was proposed (pressure (P) from 4.14-10.34 MPa), time (t) (3-5 min), and GA (0.2-0.4%)) and the dependent variables zeta potential (ζ), spectral absorption index (R), viscosity (μ), and particle size were evaluated. The ζ potential and R-index were not affected by the homogenization process and GA; the suspension was stabilized by the increase of ζ due to t, the GA effect, and the t-GA interaction. Particle size was affected by P but not by t, whereas GA mainly affected D [3,2], D [4,3], and D90. The results indicate that the homogenization and the use of GA as a hydrocolloid confer chemo-physical stability to the strawberry suspension.