Figures (9)  Tables (4)
    • Figure 1. 

      Single factor experimental results for RSM.

    • Figure 2. 

      Three-dimensional response surface and corresponding two-dimensional contour plots.

    • Figure 3. 

      Appearance and size distributions of bigel beads.

    • Figure 4. 

      Average diameter and sphericity of bigel beads. Different lowercase letters in the same row indicate significant differences (p < 0.05).

    • Figure 5. 

      Microstructure of bigel beads.

    • Figure 6. 

      Mechanical properties of bigel beads. Different lowercase letters in the same row indicate significant differences (p < 0.05).

    • Figure 7. 

      Tribological properties of bigel beads. (a) 6% (w/w) and (b) 10% (w/w) bigel beads were added to yoghurt, respectively.

    • Figure 8. 

      In vitro digestion behavior of bigel beads. AS, SGF, and SIF stand for artificial saliva, simulated gastric fluid, and simulated intestinal fluid, respectively.

    • Figure 9. 

      In vitro free fatty acid release profile of bigel beads. AS, SGF, and SIF represent artificial saliva, simulated gastric fluid, and simulated intestinal fluid, respectively.

    • Factors 1 2 3 4 5
      Ethanol concentration 0.3323 ± 0.0095 0.6511 ± 0.0145 0.8538 ± 0.0035 0.9693 ± 0.0089 0.8474 ± 0.0213
      Gelling bath temperature 0.8418 ± 0.0191 0.9777 ± 0.0019 0.9844 ± 0.0037 0.9795 ± 0.0147 0.6391 ± 0.0099
      Tween concentration 0.9856 ± 0.0099 0.9848 ± 0.0043 0.9431 ± 0.0047 0.8795 ± 0.0021 0.8076 ± 0.0758
      Numbers 1 to 5 represent different levels of factors.

      Table 1. 

      Single-factor experimental results of the gelation rate.

    • Sample runs Factors Gelation rate
      Ethanol concentration (%) Gelling bath temperature (°C) Tween concentration (%)
      1 50 −4 0 0.7799
      2 50 0 0.5 0.8679
      3 50 4 1 0.5948
      4 75 −4 0.5 0.9727
      5 75 0 1 0.9766
      6 75 4 0 0.9483
      7 100 −4 1 0.7685
      8 100 0 0 0.9434
      9 100 4 0.5 0.8276
      k1 2.2426 2.5211 2.6716
      k2 2.8976 2.7879 2.6682
      k3 2.5395 2.3706 2.3399
      R 0.2184 0.1391 0.1106
      Rank 1 2 3

      Table 2. 

      Orthogonal array design and analysis on the gelation rate.

    • Run A, peristaltic pump rate (mL/min) B, dropping height (cm) C, transport temperature (°C) Y, sphericity
      1 0.05 0.5 65 0.8867
      2 0.15 0.5 65 0.9010
      3 0.05 1.5 65 0.7813
      4 0.15 1.5 65 0.8256
      5 0.05 1 60 0.9514
      6 0.15 1 60 0.9562
      7 0.05 1 70 0.9198
      8 0.15 1 70 0.9457
      9 0.1 0.5 60 0.8330
      10 0.1 1.5 60 0.8532
      11 0.1 0.5 70 0.9211
      12 0.1 1.5 70 0.7525
      13 0.1 1 65 0.9715
      14 0.1 1 65 0.9771
      15 0.1 1 65 0.9757
      16 0.1 1 65 0.9671
      17 0.1 1 65 0.9764

      Table 3. 

      Experimental runs, and coded factors with the experimental response factor in the application of response surface methodology (RSM).

    • SourceSum of squaresDegree of freedomMean squareF-Valuep-ValueSignificance
      Model0.083190.0092158.45< 0.0001**
      A0.00110.001017.120.0044**
      B0.013510.0135232.08< 0.0001**
      C0.000410.00046.400.0393*
      AB0.000210.00023.860.0901NS
      AC0.000110.00011.930.2077NS
      BC0.008910.0089152.99< 0.0001**
      A20.000510.00058.430.0229*
      B20.054810.0548940.42< 0.0001**
      C20.001610.001627.480.0012**
      Residual0.000470.0001
      Lack of fit0.000330.00016.240.0546NS
      Pure error0.000140
      Corresponding total0.083616
      R20.9951
      R2 (adjusted)0.9888
      Probability of F-test: ** p < 0.01; * p < 0.05; NS, nonsignificant difference.

      Table 4. 

      Analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the fitted quadratic polynomial model for optimization of extraction parameters.