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Recent Study of the Microencapsulation Process of Bioactive Ingredients in Food Matrices

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A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Engineering and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2021) | Viewed by 45023

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Fernanda Galgano

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Guest Editor

School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, Viale dell'Ateneo Lucano 10, Potenza 85100, Italy
Interests: microencapsulation; fuctional food; food preservation; food analysis; food packaging; , food processing optimization; food quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Marisa Carmela Caruso

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Guest Editor

School of Agricultural, Forestry, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Basilicata, Viale Dell’Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100, Potenza, Italy
Interests: microencapsulation; food chemistry; antioxidant activity; food safety; food microbiology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Encapsulation is the process by which solids, liquids, or even gases may be enclosed, entrapped, surrounded, or coated with an edible polymeric matrix in order to protect them from the surrounding environmental or to ensure the targeted release. In the last decades, micro or nano encapsulation has been utilized for food applications with a frequency that is secondary only to pharmaceutical uses. Encapsulation in the food industry has increased, since polymeric matrices can be protected from moisture, heat, light, or other extreme conditions, enhancing the food ingredient, enzyme, or even cell stability or viability. Moreover, encapsulation in foods is also useful to mask unwanted odors or tastes. The majority of these characteristics can be obtained by various techniques, including spray drying, spray chilling, extrusion, emulsification, fluidized bed coating, liposome entrapment, phase inversion, coacervation, inclusion complexation, centrifugal extrusion, and molecular inclusion. Starches, dextrins, alginates, protein, and lipid materials can be employed as polymeric matrices, and different methods can be exploited to release the ingredients from the micro-nano capsules. Release of the included product can be site-specific, stage-specific, or signalled by changes in pH, temperature, irradiation, or osmotic shock. The development of a new micro- or nano-encapsulated product must be considered a challenge, and new innovative technologies and more clean and less expensive processes should be considered. Moreover, the application of the encapsulation of food applications is becoming increasingly important for the use of more natural and functional polymeric matrices.

Prof. Fernanda Galgano
Prof. Marisa Carmela Caruso
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Microencapsulation;
Nanoencapsulation;
Foods;
Bioactive compounds;
Protection;
Controlled release;
Probiotic availability.

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 2315 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization Model of Phenolics Encapsulation Conditions for Biofortification in Fatty Acids of Animal Food Products

by Roberta Tolve, Fernanda Galgano, Nicola Condelli, Nazarena Cela, Luigi Lucini and Marisa Carmela Caruso

Foods 2021, 10(4), 881; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10040881 - 17 Apr 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2616

Abstract

The nutritional quality of animal products is strongly related to their fatty acid content and composition. Nowadays, attention is paid to the possibility of producing healthier foods of animal origin by intervening in animal feed. In this field, the use of condensed tannins as dietary supplements in animal nutrition is becoming popular due to their wide range of biological effects related, among others, to their ability to modulate the rumen biohydrogenation and biofortify, through the improvement of the fatty acids profile, the derivate food products. Unfortunately, tannins are characterized by strong astringency and low bioavailability. These disadvantages could be overcome through the microencapsulation in protective matrices. With this in mind, the optimal conditions for microencapsulation of a polyphenolic extract rich in condensed tannins by spray drying using a blend of maltodextrin (MD) and gum Arabic (GA) as shell material were investigated. For this purpose, after the extract characterization, through spectrophotometer assays and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight (UHPLC-QTOF) mass spectrometry, a central composite design (CCD) was employed to investigate the combined effects of core:shell and MD:GA ratio on the microencapsulation process. The results obtained were used to develop second-order polynomial regression models on different responses, namely encapsulation yield, encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity, and tannin content. The formulation characterized by a core:shell ratio of 1.5:5 and MD:GA ratio of 4:6 was selected as the optimized one with a loading capacity of 17.67%, encapsulation efficiency of 76.58%, encapsulation yield of 35.69%, and tannin concentration of 14.46 g/100 g. Moreover, in vitro release under varying pH of the optimized formulation was carried out with results that could improve the use of microencapsulated condensed tannins in animal nutrition for the biofortification of derivates. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Study of the Microencapsulation Process of Bioactive Ingredients in Food Matrices)

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12 pages, 2303 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fabrication of Oil-in-Water Emulsions with Whey Protein Isolate–Puerarin Composites: Environmental Stability and Interfacial Behavior

by Yejun Zhong, Jincheng Zhao, Taotao Dai, Jiangping Ye, Jianyong Wu, Tingting Chen and Chengmei Liu

Foods 2021, 10(4), 705; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10040705 - 26 Mar 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2644

Abstract

Protein–polyphenol interactions influence emulsifying properties in both directions. Puerarin (PUE) is an isoflavone that can promote the formation of heat-set gels with whey protein isolate (WPI) through hydrogen bonding. We examined whether PUE improves the emulsifying properties of WPI and the stabilities of the emulsions. We found that forming composites with PUE improves the emulsifying properties of WPI in a concentration-dependent manner. The optimal concentration is 0.5%, which is the highest PUE concentration that can be solubilized in water. The PUE not only decreased the droplet size of the emulsions, but also increased the surface charge by forming composites with the WPI. A 21 day storage test also showed that the maximum PUE concentration improved the emulsion stability the most. A PUE concentration of 0.5% improved the stability of the WPI emulsions against environmental stress, especially thermal treatment. Surface protein loads indicated more protein was adsorbed to the oil droplets, resulting in less interfacial WPI concentration due to an increase in specific surface areas. The use of PUE also decreased the interfacial tension of WPI at the oil–water interface. To conclude, PUE improves the emulsifying activity, storage, and environmental stability of WPI emulsions. This result might be related to the decreased interfacial tension of WPI–PUE composites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Study of the Microencapsulation Process of Bioactive Ingredients in Food Matrices)

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14 pages, 3046 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Microencapsulation on Survival at Simulated Gastrointestinal Conditions and Heat Treatment of a Non Probiotic Strain, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 48M, and the Probiotic Strain Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938

by Clorinda Malmo, Irene Giordano and Gianluigi Mauriello

Foods 2021, 10(2), 217; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10020217 - 21 Jan 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2578

Abstract

Cells of the probiotic strain Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 and of the non-probiotic strain Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 48M were microencapsulated in alginate matrix by emulsion technique. Survival of microorganisms in the microcapsules was tested against gastrointestinal (GI) simulated conditions and heat stress. Results demonstrated that the microencapsulation process improved vitality of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 48M cells after GI conditions exposure, allowing survival similarly to the probiotic Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938. Moreover, microencapsulation was able to protect neither Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 nor Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 48M cells when exposed to heat treatments. Microencapsulated Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 cells were still able to produce reuterin, an antimicrobial agent, as well as free cells. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Study of the Microencapsulation Process of Bioactive Ingredients in Food Matrices)

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17 pages, 4107 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fabrication of Spray-Dried Microcapsules Containing Noni Juice Using Blends of Maltodextrin and Gum Acacia: Physicochemical Properties of Powders and Bioaccessibility of Bioactives during In Vitro Digestion

by Chuang Zhang, Siew Lin Ada Khoo, Peter Swedlund, Yukiharu Ogawa, Yang Shan and Siew Young Quek

Foods 2020, 9(9), 1316; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9091316 - 18 Sep 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4362

Abstract

Microencapsulation of fermented noni juice (FNJ) into powder format could protect bioactive compounds, reduce the unpleasant odour and improve the acceptability for consumers. Blends of maltodextrin (MD) and gum acacia (GA) were used to achieve spray-drying microencapsulation of noni juice at different blending ratios. The physicochemical properties including microstructure, moisture content, water activity, particle size, bulk/tapped density, dissolution rate, ATR-FTIR and the bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds in powders during in vitro digestion were examined. Results showed that blends produced with more GA produced microcapsules with lower moisture content, water activity and bulk/tapped density, but slower powder dissolution. The ATR-FTIR results suggested that there were no significant chemical interactions between the core material and carrier or between the MD and GA in the blend powders. The spray-dried noni juice powder produced using the blends with higher ratio of GA to MD showed a better protection on the bioactive compounds, resulting in a higher bioaccessibility of powders during in vitro digestion. This study provides insights into microencapsulation of noni juice using blends of MD and GA and examines the physicochemical properties and bioaccessibilities of spray-dried powders as affected by the selected carriers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Study of the Microencapsulation Process of Bioactive Ingredients in Food Matrices)

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13 pages, 1239 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Microencapsulation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae into Alginate Beads: A Focus on Functional Properties of Released Cells

by Antonio Bevilacqua, Daniela Campaniello, Barbara Speranza, Angela Racioppo, Clelia Altieri, Milena Sinigaglia and Maria Rosaria Corbo

Foods 2020, 9(8), 1051; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9081051 - 04 Aug 2020

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3777

Abstract

Five yeast strains (four wild Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains and a collection strain-S. cerevisiae var. boulardii) were encapsulated in alginate beads. Encapsulation yield was at least 60% (100% for some strains) and yeasts survived in beads for 30 days at 4 °C, although the viability was strongly affected during storage at 25 °C (3 log reduction after 7 days). The kinetic of cell release was studied under static and dynamic conditions, but the results suggest that, after 48 h, beads contained a high number of yeasts. Thus, their use is advisable as re-usable carriers of starter cultures or as a vehicle of probiotics into the gut. Finally, some functional properties (biofilm formation, hydrophobicity, auto-aggregation, survival during the transit into the gut) were evaluated on yeasts released by beads to assess if microencapsulation could negatively affect these traits. The results showed that yeasts’ entrapment in beads did not affect probiotic properties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Study of the Microencapsulation Process of Bioactive Ingredients in Food Matrices)

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17 pages, 2959 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microencapsulation of Rambutan Peel Extract by Spray Drying

by Luis Boyano-Orozco, Tzayhrí Gallardo-Velázquez, Ofelia Gabriela Meza-Márquez and Guillermo Osorio-Revilla

Foods 2020, 9(7), 899; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9070899 - 08 Jul 2020

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5183

Abstract

Microencapsulation of bioactive compounds (BC) from rambutan peel by spray drying using DE10 maltodextrin as encapsulating agent was performed. The optimal conditions for the ethanolic extraction of BC were 60 °C, with a time of 1 h, 55% aqueous ethanol and three extraction cycles. The best spray drying encapsulating conditions for BC and antioxidant capacity (AC) were: inlet temperature 160 °C, outlet temperature 80 °C, and 10% encapsulating agent concentration in the feeding solution (core:encapsulating agent ratio of 1:4). With these conditions, retention and encapsulation efficiencies obtained were higher than 85%, the water activity value, moisture content and Hausner Index were of 0.25 ± 0.01, 3.95 ± 0.10%, and 1.42 ± 0.00, respectively. The optimized powder presented good solubility and morphological properties, showing microcapsules without ruptures. Based on these results, microencapsulation by spray drying is a viable technique which protects BC of rambutan peel, facilitating its application in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Study of the Microencapsulation Process of Bioactive Ingredients in Food Matrices)

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16 pages, 2656 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Masking the Perceived Astringency of Proanthocyanidins in Beverages Using Oxidized Starch Hydrogel Microencapsulation

by Xiaodan Zhao, Yingchao Ai, Yulin Hu, Yongtao Wang, Liang Zhao, Dong Yang, Fang Chen, Xiaomeng Wu, Yuan Li and Xiaojun Liao

Foods 2020, 9(6), 756; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9060756 - 08 Jun 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3365

Abstract

Proanthocyanidins (PAs) are responsible for several health benefits of many fruits, but they could cause a generally disliked sensation of astringency. Traditional deastringency methods remove bioactive ingredients, resulting in the loss of valuable nutrients and associated health benefits. This work aimed to microencapsulate PAs from grape seeds using oxidized starch hydrogel (OSH) and mask its perceived astringency in beverages while maintaining its bioavailability. The maximum PA uptake capabilities of OSH, as well as the binding site and primary binding force between these two components, were determined. The resulting PA-OSH complex was stable under in vitro digestion, with only 1.6% of PA being released in the salivary digestion, and it has an intestine-specific release property. The reaction of PA with α-amylase in artificial saliva was substantially reduced by OSH microencapsulation, leading to 41.5% less precipitation of the salivary proteins. The sensory evaluation results showed that the microencapsulation was able to mask the astringency of PA-fortified water, as the perceived threshold of astringency increased by 3.85 times. These results proved that OSH could be used as a novel food additive to reduce the astringency of beverage products due to its hydrogel properties and ability to encapsulate phenolic compounds. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Study of the Microencapsulation Process of Bioactive Ingredients in Food Matrices)

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12 pages, 1263 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spectroscopic and Molecular Modeling Investigation on the Interaction between Folic Acid and Bovine Lactoferrin from Encapsulation Perspectives

by Iuliana Aprodu, Loredana Dumitrașcu, Gabriela Râpeanu, Gabriela-Elena Bahrim and Nicoleta Stănciuc

Foods 2020, 9(6), 744; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9060744 - 04 Jun 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2866

Abstract

The impact of thermal treatment on the ability of lactoferrin (FL) to bind folic acid (FA) was investigated by employing fluorescence spectroscopy, molecular dynamics and docking tests. The structural and conformational particularities of LF upon heating at 80 °C and 100 °C were first estimated based on the intrinsic fluorescence changes in respect to the native protein. The emission spectra indicated gradual unfolding events accompanied by Trp exposure with increasing temperature. In agreement with the experimental results, molecular modeling investigations showed that the secondary and tertiary structure of LF are slightly affected by the thermal treatment. Some minor unfolding events related particularly to the α-helical regions of LF were observed when the temperature increased to 100 °C. The LF fluorescence quenching upon FA addition indicated that a static mechanism stands behind LF-FA complex formation. Regardless of the simulated temperature, the hydrogen bonds played an important role in regulating the interaction between the protein and ligand. FA binding to LF equilibrated at different temperatures occurred spontaneously, and all complexes displayed good thermodynamic stability. The obtained results support the suitability of LF as biocompatible material, for obtaining micro- and nanoparticles for delivery of dietary supplements or for enhancing the functionality of target delivery systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Study of the Microencapsulation Process of Bioactive Ingredients in Food Matrices)

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17 pages, 2125 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microencapsulation of Pineapple Peel Extract by Spray Drying Using Maltodextrin, Inulin, and Arabic Gum as Wall Matrices

by Sofia C. Lourenço, Margarida Moldão-Martins and Vítor D. Alves

Foods 2020, 9(6), 718; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9060718 - 02 Jun 2020

Cited by 50 | Viewed by 7092

Abstract

A pineapple peel hydroalcoholic extract rich in phenolic compounds, was stabilized by microencapsulation using spray drying technology, with maltodextrin, inulin, and arabic gum as wall materials. The influence of the type of wall material and drying temperature (150 and 190 °C) on the particles properties was studied. The particles presented a spherical shape with a diameter ranging from approximately 1.3 to 18.2 µm, the exception being the ones with inulin that showed a large degree of agglomeration. All powders produced presented an intermediate cohesiveness and a fair to good flowability according to Carr index and Hausner ratio, which envisages suitable handling properties at an industrial scale. The microencapsulation processes using maltodextrin and arabic gum at 150 °C were the ones that showed higher maintenance of the antioxidant activity of compounds present in the extract before encapsulation during spray drying. In addition, the microparticles obtained were quite efficient in stabilizing the encapsulated phenolic compounds, as their antioxidant activity did not change significantly during six months of storage at 5 °C. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Study of the Microencapsulation Process of Bioactive Ingredients in Food Matrices)

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Review

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25 pages, 2242 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Developments in Solid Lipid Microparticles for Food Ingredients Delivery

by Victoria Nahum and Abraham J. Domb

Foods 2021, 10(2), 400; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10020400 - 11 Feb 2021

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4388

Abstract

Health food has become a prominent force in the market place, influencing many food industries to focus on numerous bioactive compounds to reap benefits from its properties. Use of these compounds in food matrices has several limitations. Most of the food bio-additives are sensitive compounds that may quickly decompose in both food and within the gastrointestinal tract. Since most of these bioactives are highly or partially lipophilic molecules, they possess very low water solubility and insufficient dispersibility, leading to poor bioavailability. Thus, various methods of microencapsulation of large number of food bioactives have been studied. For encapsulation of hydrophobic compounds several lipid carriers and lipid platforms have been studied, including emulsions, microemulsions, micelles, liposomes, and lipid nano- and microparticles. Solid lipid particles (SLP) are a promising delivery system, can both deliver bioactive compounds, reduce their degradation, and permit slow and sustained release. Solid lipid particles have important advantages compared to other polymer carriers in light of their simple production technology, including scale up ability, higher loading capacity, extremely high biocompatibility, and usually low cost. This delivery system provides improved stability, solubility in various matrixes, bioavailability, and targeting properties. This article reviews recent studies on microencapsulation of selected bioactive food ingredients in solid lipid-based carriers from a point of view of production methods, characteristics of obtained particles, loading capability, stability, and release profile. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Study of the Microencapsulation Process of Bioactive Ingredients in Food Matrices)

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19 pages, 873 KiB

Open AccessReview

Microencapsulation as a Tool for the Formulation of Functional Foods: The Phytosterols’ Case Study

by Roberta Tolve, Nazarena Cela, Nicola Condelli, Maria Di Cairano, Marisa C. Caruso and Fernanda Galgano

Foods 2020, 9(4), 470; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9040470 - 09 Apr 2020

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 5049

Abstract

Hypercholesterolemia, which is an increase in total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) serum cholesterol, is an important risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases. Lifestyle modifications underpin any action plan for reducing serum cholesterol. Phytosterols are natural compounds belonging to the triterpenes family. Thanks to their structural analogy with cholesterol, phytosterols have the ability to reduce serum LDL-cholesterol levels. Phytosterols are used to enrich or fortify a broad spectrum of food products. Like unsaturated fatty acids and cholesterol, phytosterols are easily oxidized. Microencapsulation could be a useful tool to overcome this and other drawbacks linked to the use of phytosterols in food fortification. In this review, in addition to explaining the phytosterols’ mechanisms of action, a focus on the use of free and encapsulated phytosterols for the formulation of functional foods, taking also into account both technological and legislative issues, is given. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Study of the Microencapsulation Process of Bioactive Ingredients in Food Matrices)

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