Construction of food-grade pH-sensitive nanoparticles for delivering functional food ingredients

Publication date: Available online 23 December 2019Source: Trends in Food Science & TechnologyAuthor(s): Ke Xiong, Liyang Zhou, Jinyu Wang, Aiguo Ma, Di Fang, Liu Xiong, Qingjie SunAbstractBackgroundFunctional food ingredients can improve human health. However, the bioavailability of many functional food ingredients after oral administration is low because of their instability in the human gastrointestinal tract and low solubility in water. Food-grade pH-sensitive nanoparticles can efficiently deliver functional food ingredients into the human intestine, improve their solubility, and enhance absorption through enteric epithelial cells. In addition, these nanoparticles are biocompatible and non-toxic. Thus, food-grade pH-sensitive nanoparticles are promising carriers for delivering functional food ingredients.Scope and approachThis review first introduces a few important functional food ingredients, their benefits for human health, and challenges regarding human intake. Then the existing food-grade pH-sensitive nanoparticles from the literature are categorized into three groups for review: polysaccharide-based, protein-based and lipid-based pH-sensitive nanoparticles. Examples are provided to illustrate the preparation methods and working principles of food-grade pH-sensitive nanoparticles.Key findings and conclusionsFood-grade pH-sensitive nanoparticles can increase the bioavailability of functional food ingredients by improving their stability in the human stomach and by con...
Source: Trends in Food Science and Technology - Category: Food Science Source Type: research