Development of Maltodextrin/Sodium Alginate Encapsulated Complex as an Effective Combination for Masking Bitterness in Lime ( Citrus aurantiifolia ) Peel Extract

Citrus aurantiifolia is widely used as food, beverage, and herbal medicine, but produces significant waste, about 50% of the fruit, especially the peel. The peel is rich in phenolic compounds and flavonoids, but the bitterness of the flavonoids limits its widespread application. This study is aimed at masking the bitter taste of C. aurantiifolia peel water extract (CPE) by encapsulation using a combination of sodium alginate and maltodextrin (1:16) as wall material. CPE was prepared into microcapsules with variation of extract: wall material = F1 (1:2.5); F2 (1:5); F3 (1:7.5); F4 (1:10), then spray dried. CPE was evaluated for its TPC and TFC. Encapsulated CPE was evaluated for bitterness, antioxidant activity, encapsulation efficiency, moisture content, pH, and morphological characteristics using a particle size analyzer (PSA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The sensory analysis showed that F3 and F4 had no more bitter taste. Evaluation of F3 revealed an antioxidant I C 50 of 106.56 ± 0.71 μ g / m L , entrapment efficiency of 96.92 % ± 0.58 % , moisture content of 5 % ± 0.2 % , pH of 6.23 ± 0.02, diameter of 3.45 μ m, and microcapsule morphology of spherical and partially indented surface. The microcapsules formulated using the maltodextrin–alginate combination were successfully developed, providing effective encapsulation and improved handling of the extract. This outcome supports their potential application in nutraceutical, functional food, and other value‐added product formulations.