ROLE OF ENCAPSULATION TECHNOLOGIES IN ENHANCING BIOAVAILABILITY OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS

Abstract

Polyphenols, carotenoids, flavonoids and vitamins are bioactive compounds that have been well established to have health promoting effects i.e. antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity. However, their low solubility, poor stability and low bioavailability limit their proper use in functional foods and nutraceuticals. Encapsulation technologies have developed as a promising technology to defeat these obstacles by safeguarding bioactive compounds against degradation, enhancing solubility and providing a controlled release. This review paper gives a detailed insight into the encapsulation methods, including spray drying, freeze drying, coacervation & nanoencapsulation but mainly with regard to the effect they have on bioavailability. The food industry use, scaling issues and the prospects of the future are addressed, pointing to the possibility of encapsulation to enrich fruit and vegetable by products. This paper highlights encapsulation as an important instrument to the development of functional foods and the advocacy of sustainable food systems by incorporating the recent discoveries.