Hafiza Hamna Mushtaq, Aqsa Akhtar, Iqra Nasim, Nauman Khalid
The current study aimed to explore the polyphenols present in eggplant peels, their encapsulation, and application in the low-fat functional mozzarella spread. Eggplant peel extraction was performed with ultrasound-assisted extraction conditions with deep eutectic solvents. The extraction conditions, including ultrasonication time (5–10 min), ultrasonic power (5–10 W), and sample concentration (10–15%), were optimized using a Box Behnken design. W/O/W emulsions were formulated with varying volume fractions of W/O emulsions (10% (E 1 ), 20% (E 2 ), and 30% (E 3 ) (%w/w)) using a fat replacer of aloe vera gel mucilage. W/O and W/O/W emulsions were evaluated in terms of phytochemicals retention capacity, droplet size, creaming, and color stability on 0, 3, 7, and 15 days at 4 °C. Mozzarella spreads were prepared with no emulsion addition (T o ), 10 mL of W/O (T 1 ), 10 mL of E 1 (T 2 ), and 10 mL of E 3 (T 3 ) and assessed for 1, 3, and 7 days at 4 °C based on phytochemicals, antioxidant potential, textural, color, and sensory analysis. Optimized extraction parameters were 7.5 min, 8 W, and 13% to attain 21 mg/g polyphenols, 9 mg/g flavonoids, and 64% DPPH activity. W/O emulsions exhibited a decline in polyphenols, flavonoids, antioxidants, and retention capacity over time. E 1 presented the highest droplet, bioactive retention, and creaming stability with the lowest color change due to higher plant mucilage concentration , in contrast to E 2 and E 3 . T 1 presented higher sensory and functional characteristics in contrast to the control. Overall, the W/O emulsions have the potential for the formulation of mozzarella spread with improved sensorial attributes.