Polyphenols as Plant-Based Nutraceuticals: Health Effects, Encapsulation, Nano-Delivery, and Application

Abstract

Plant polyphenols have attracted considerable attention because of their key roles in preventing many diseases, including high blood sugar, high cholesterol, and cancer. A variety of functional foods have been designed and developed with plant polyphenols as the main active ingredients. Polyphenols mainly come from vegetables and fruits and can generally be divided according to their structure into flavonoids, astragalus, phenolic acids, and lignans. Polyphenols are a group of plant-derived functional food ingredients with different molecular structures and various biological activities including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. However, many polyphenolic compounds have low oral bioavailability, which limits the application of polyphenols in nutraceuticals. Fortunately, green bio-based nanocarriers are well suited for encapsulating, protecting, and delivering polyphenols, thereby improving their bioavailability. In this paper, the health benefits of plant polyphenols in the prevention of various diseases are summarized, with a review of the research progress into bio-based nanocarriers for the improvement of the oral bioavailability of polyphenols. Polyphenols have great potential for application as key formulations in health and nutrition products. In the future, the development of food-grade delivery carriers for the encapsulation and delivery of polyphenolic compounds could well solve the limitations of poor water solubility and low bioavailability of polyphenols for practical applications.

Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Antioxidants from Melastoma malabathricum Linn.: Modeling and Optimization Using Box–Behnken Design

“…Plant polyphenols are being effectively created and sold as either supplements or nutraceutical products. In spite of the fact that these compounds play an obscure role in non-supplements, a considerable amount have high beneficial properties including antioxidant, anti-mutagenic, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory properties that may be advantageous in preventing diseases [ 35 ].…”

Antioxidant, Antifungal and Cytotoxic Impact of Acacia nilotica Bark Aqueous Extract

“…Amid plants, medicative plants hold a richness in antioxidants as polyphenolic ingredients (Kumar et al, 2013). Studies have proclaimed beneficiary impressions of plant polyphenolic compounds on long-lasting metabolic issues when consumed for a longer term and presently applied as food additives or nutraceuticals (Zhang et al, 2022).…”

Encapsulation of Bioactive Compounds for Food and Agricultural Applications

“…Polyphenols include a heterogeneous group of bioactive compounds containing at least one phenolic ring, naturally found in fruits, rhizomes, cereals, coffee, and tea, among others [ 132 ]. Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties have been associated with them, and they also participate in the prevention of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer [ 133 , 134 ]. During its encapsulation, biopolymers are used, which stand out for being biodegradable, biocompatible, and high nutritional value vehicles.…”

“…Through the use of liposomes, nanoemulsions, and solid lipid nanoparticles, the bioavailability of fat-soluble polyphenols can be improved [ 132 ]. In general, for the encapsulation of plant polyphenols, different types of biobased nanocarriers can be used, such as nanomicelles, nanoemulsions, nanoparticles, nanogels, and liposomes, including soy protein, albumin, zein, cellulose, starch, and lipids, which efficiently manage and protect polyphenolic compounds, as well as improve their bioavailability [ 132 , 134 ].…”