Microencapsulation of natural bioactives for food applications
Conference Paper
Overview
Overview
abstract
Currently,
food
industry
is
focused
in
avoiding
potential
harmfulness
of
synthetic
food
additives
and
in
developing
novel
functional
foods
containing
health
promoting
ingredients.
In
this
context,
natural
matrices,
which
are
recognized
as
rich
sources
of
biologically
active
compounds,
are
viewed
as
viable
substitutes.
Nevertheless,
the
incorporation
of
bioactive
compounds
in
foods,
either
to
act
as
natural
preservers
or
to
impart
functional
properties,
needs
intermediate
developments.
Bioactive
ingredients
are
generally
prone
to
degradation,
both
during
storage
and
food
processing,
and
can
interact
with
other
food
components
resulting
in
their
bioavailability
weakening.
Additionally,
they
can
present
unpleasant
taste
and
odor.
Microencapsulation
is
a
technique
that
allows
bioactive
compounds/extracts
to
be
incorporated
into
a
matrix
or
coating
shell
in
the
form
of
particles
with
diameters
ranging
from
1
to
1000
micrometers.
These
microparticles
can
release
their
contents
along
with
time
by
means
of
different
release
mechanisms,
which
are
dependent
from
the
used
encapsulation
materials,
production
process,
final
morphology
and
application.
Microcapsulation
can
thus
provide
a
tool
to
protect
natural
extracts
against
the
action
of
atmospheric
agents
such
as
light,
moisture
and
heat,
ensuring
stability
increase
and
bioavailability
control.
Moreover
it
can
be
used
to
provide
a
controlled
release,
including
the
delivery
to
the
desired
site
after
ingestion.
This
work
intends
to
give
an
overview
of
the
cooperative
and
interdisciplinary
work
developed
between
BioChemCore
(http://esa.ipb.pt/biochemcore/)
and
LSRE/IPB
(http://lsre.fe.up.pt/)
research
groups,
in
the
field
of
bioactives
microencapsulation.
Thus,
microencapsulation
of
natural
bioactives
will
be
discussed
by
presenting
a
set
of
case
studies
focusing
process
development,
incorporation
into
food
matrices
and
bioactivity
evaluation.
