Microencapsulation and co-encapsulation of bioactive compounds for application in food: challenges and perspectives

Abstract

The availability of different food products containing bioactive compounds promotes their inclusion in the daily diet of consumers. However, the effective and safe delivery of such products requires certain precautions to ensure their preservation, stability, and bioavailability when consumed. Microencapsulation is a great alternative, which is a method capable of protecting different bioactive compounds, including probiotic cells, prebiotic compounds, and some antioxidant substances such as phenolic compounds, anthocyanins, flavonoids, and vitamins. Therefore, this study aimed to perform a literature review and present different alternatives to make bioactive compounds viable through microencapsulation, increase their stability and viability when applied in different food matrices, and address the existing challenges regarding their effectiveness.

Development and characterization of probiotic (co)encapsulates in biopolymeric matrices and evaluation of survival in a millet yogurt formulation

“…However, encapsulated bacteria may suffer from stress due to environmental changes, resulting in reduced metabolism. Thus, the combination of two or more wall materials (bioactive compounds) in a single matrix was able to improve the viability and efficiency of co‐encapsulated cells compared with that of the encapsulated cells (da Conceição et al., 2021; Eratte et al., 2018; Raddatz & de Menezes, 2021; Vaziri et al., 2018). These results are identical to those obtained by Eratte et al.…”

Gelatin-Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite Hydrogels for Kluyveromyces lactis Encapsulation: Potential Applications in Probiotics and Bioreactor Packings

“…Encapsulation of bioactive compounds or whole cells for oral administration has been achieved with the aid of several materials, including collagen, gelatin, alginate, chitosan, gum Arabic, maltodextrin, starch, sodium caseinate, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, and polyacrylic acid [15][16][17][18][19]. Polymeric materials, particularly hydrogels, have been described as the preferred choice due to characteristics such as hydrophilic porous matrix, flexibility, high biocompatibility and biodegradability, prolonged consistency, userfriendliness, low cost, and ease of access [20][21][22].…”

Polysaccharides systems for probiotic bacteria microencapsulation: mini review

“…Rashidinejad et al (2022) assure that probiotic/prebiotic co-encapsulation is an effective method of administration of probiotic live cells and that a greater survival efficiency of probiotics can be achieved during the encapsulation process and the manufacture and storage of food. Likewise, Raddatz & Menezes (2021) and Youssef et al (2021) reported different studies with an increase in the survival of probiotic cells by co-encapsulating.…”