Nanoencapsulation of Food Ingredients

Abstract

Nanoencapsulation of food ingredients is one of the important applications of food nanotechnology. Nanoencapsulation is a technique used to produce nanocapsules from core materials packed within a wall material. Food manufacturers need to incorporate food ingredients with specific functional properties into food products. However, these ingredients may slowly degrade and lose their activity, or become hazardous due to various chemical reactions. They can also react with other components in the food system, which may lower their bioavailability, or change the color or taste of a product, allowing the food item to become prone to spoilage and deterioration. The protection of food ingredients against degradation and interaction with other food components may be done using the nanoencapsulation technique. It also, helps to enhance the bioavailability of food ingredients by protecting them during the digestive processes, improved uptake in the gastrointestinal tract and enhanced transport to the target sites. Nanosized materials provide a larger surface area for interaction with the biological substrates than microsized materials. Various techniques such as emulsification, coacervation, nanoprecipitation, solvent evaporation, spray drying and freeze drying are widely used techniques for nanoencapsulation of food ingredients.