Natural phytochemicals and probiotics as bioactive ingredients for functional foods: Extraction, biochemistry and protected-delivery technologies

Abstract

Background: The well-known correlation between diet and physiology demonstrates the great possibilities of food to maintain or improve our health, increasing the interest in finding new products with positive physiological effects. Nowadays, one of the top research areas in Food Science and Technology is the extraction and characterization of new natural ingredients with biological activity that can be further incorporated into a functional food, contributing to consumer's well-being. Furthermore, there is a high demand for effective encapsulation methodologies to preserve all the characteristics of bioactive compounds until the physiological action site is reached. Scope and approach: In this review, the relevance of developing standard approaches for the extraction of the highly diverse bioactive compounds was described, as it defines the suitability of the following steps of separation, identification and characterization. Special attention was also dedicated to the encapsulation techniques used on hydrophilic and/or lipophilic compounds (e.g., emulsification, coacervation, supercritical fluid, inclusion complexation, emulsification-solvent evaporation and nanoprecipitation). Key findings and conclusions: Some useful conclusions regarding the selection of the best extraction methodology (Soxhlet extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, accelerated solvent extraction, or shake extraction) were achieved, considering important aspects such as cost, required technical skills, extract integrity, green chemistry principles, solvent type, sample size, pH, temperature and pressure. In addition, this comprehensive review allowed defining the best protective approach to solve the limitations related to the extremely low absorption and bioavailability of bioactive phytochemicals, overcoming problems related to their low solubility, poor stability, low permeability and metabolic processes in the GI tract.

Internet Databases of the Properties, Enzymatic Reactions, and Metabolism of Small Molecules—Search Options and Applications in Food Science

“…Chemical properties also affect the biological activity of food compounds. Compounds with reducing properties act as antioxidants, and they play an important role in functional foods [56]. Food flavoring should be analyzed in view of the chemical composition of foods [55,57].…”

Effect of ethanolic extraction, thermal vacuum concentration, ultrafiltration, and spray drying on polyphenolic compounds of tropical highland blackberry (Rubus adenotrichos Schltdl.) by‐product

“…The product obtained from BBP could be used as a nutraceutical product, which is not only complementary to the diet, but also aids in the prevention and treatment of disease and health disorders (Da Costa, ), or an ingredient to be used in the production of functional foods, which are foods or beverages with a specific scientifically‐verified effect (Vieira da Silva, Barreira, & Oliveira, ). Polyphenolic compounds have been extracted and purified from blackberry fruits, but further studies are needed to optimize the extraction, concentration, and purification of polyphenols from BBP in order to produce an added‐value ingredient from this by‐product.…”

“…Microencapsulation is commonly used to obtain nutraceutical powders; spray drying is the most widely used microencapsulation technique (Vieira da Silva et al, ). Maltodextrin has proven to be a good encapsulant for the spray drying of fruit juices and extracts as it retains polyphenols, ATC (Araujo‐Diaz, Leyva‐Porras, Aguirre‐Bañuelos, Álvarez‐Salas, & Saavedra‐Leos, ; De Souza, Thomazini, Balieiro, & Fávaro‐Trindade, ; Elez Garofulić, Zorić, Pedisić, & Dragović‐Uzelac, ; Jafari, Ghalenoei, & Dehnad, ; Lavelli, Sri Harsha, & Spigno, ), and ET (Fracassetti, Costa, Moulay, & Tomás‐Barberán, ).…”

“…The product obtained from BBP could be used as a nutraceutical product, which is not only complementary to the diet, but also aids in the prevention and treatment of disease and health disorders (Da Costa, 2017), or an ingredient to be used in the production of functional foods, which are foods or beverages with a specific scientifically-verified effect (Vieira da Silva, Barreira, & Oliveira, 2016).…”

Microencapsulated betacyanin from colored organic quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.): optimization, physicochemical characterization and accelerated storage stability

“…Microencapsulation has been studied as a protected‐delivery procedure to stabilize and improve availability and accessibility of bioactive compounds . Microencapsulation has been typically used to produce shelf‐stable encapsulated phytochemicals that are used as food colorants, additives, and flavoring .…”