Encapsulation and Protection of Omega-3-Rich Fish Oils Using Food-Grade Delivery Systems

Abstract

Regular consumption of adequate quantities of lipids rich in omega-3 fatty acids is claimed to provide a broad spectrum of health benefits, such as inhibiting inflammation, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. Lipids isolated from many marine sources are a rich source of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the omega-3 form which are claimed to have particularly high biological activities. Functional food products designed to enhance human health and wellbeing are increasingly being fortified with these omega-3 PUFAs because of their potential nutritional and health benefits. However, food fortification with PUFAs is challenging because of their low water-solubility, their tendency to rapidly oxidize, and their variable bioavailability. These challenges can be addressed using advanced encapsulation technologies, which typically involve incorporating the omega-3 oils into well-designed colloidal particles fabricated from food-grade ingredients, such as liposomes, emulsion droplets, nanostructured lipid carriers, or microgels. These omega-3-enriched colloidal dispersions can be used in a fluid form or they can be converted into a powdered form using spray-drying, which facilitates their handling and storage, as well as prolonging their shelf life. In this review, we provide an overview of marine-based omega-3 fatty acid sources, discuss their health benefits, highlight the challenges involved with their utilization in functional foods, and present the different encapsulation technologies that can be used to improve their performance.

Essential Fatty Acids as Biomedicines in Cardiac Health

“…Adopting an appropriate encapsulation methodol-ogy can drive significant improvements in the water dispersibility, chemical stability, and bioavailability of ω-3 fatty acids. Using nanoemulsified and microemulsified formulations provides smaller oil droplets, which can significantly enhance the physicochemical stability and bioavailability, as previously observed in several biologically active oils, including fish oils, essential oils, sunflower, and olive oils in combination with hydrophilic nanocarriers [131][132][133]. Moreover, small droplets of ω-3 PUFA are easily delivered to the body via cellular membranes, boosting blood plasma and erythrocyte concentrations [134].…”

“…Over recent decades, research has focused on improving the bioavailability of ω-3 fatty acids, in order to increase the bioavailability of EFAs using targeted delivery systems. Advanced encapsulation technologies can overcome certain difficulties, involving the controlled release of hydrogels, microgels, emulsion-based droplets, nanostructured lipid carriers, and liposomes [130,131]. Adopting an appropriate encapsulation methodol-ogy can drive significant improvements in the water dispersibility, chemical stability, and bioavailability of ω-3 fatty acids.…”

“…A recent study achieved oxidation stability by encapsulating chia seed oil in a matrix obtained from ionic gelation using a Salvia hispanica mucilage combined with calcium and alginate [135]. A second option is the incorporation of ω-3-rich phospholipids derived from marine oils in the hydrophobic nonpolar tails of phospholipids to synthesize liposomes that could confer an enhanced oxidative stability [131]. To our knowledge, marine-based liposome delivery systems were previously proven to remarkably enhance the bioavailability of ω-3 fatty acids in respect to standard fish oils [136].…”

“…Previous studies suggested that lipid-based formulations can improve the bioavailability of ω-3, as well as their ingestion with high-fat meals, which can improve their bioavailability [128]. It was also recommended that the ingestion of emulsified forms of omega-3 oils should have higher bioavailability patterns because such supplements can be enriched with absorption enhancers that advance the permeability for the epithelium cells [131]. Moreover, emulsions provide the greater surface area required by pancreatic lipases for adsorption.…”

Application of Encapsulation Technology in Edible Films: Carrier of Bioactive Compounds

“…Low yield 6. Usually practiced on laboratory scaleShukla et al, 2017;Esposto et al, 2021;Venugopalan et al, 2021…”