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Polysaccharides are natural polymers isolated from plants, microorganisms, algae, and some animals they are composed of aldoses or ketoses linked by glycosidic bonds. Due to the affordability, abundance, safety, and functionality, polysaccharides are widely used in the foods and medicines to construct oral delivery systems for sensitive bioactive ingredients. In this article, the characteristics and applications of nanoscale polysaccharide-based delivery carriers are reviewed, including their ability to encapsulate, protect, and deliver bioactive ingredients. This review discusses the sources, characteristics, and functional properties of common food polysaccharides, including starch, pectin, chitosan, xanthan gum, and alginate. It also highlights the potential advantages of using polysaccharides for the construction of nano-delivery systems, such as nanoparticles, nanogels, nanoemulsions, nanocapsules, and nanofibers. Moreover, the application of delivery systems assembled from polysaccharides is summarized, with a focus on pH-responsive delivery of bioactives. There are some key findings and conclusions: Nanoscale polysaccharide delivery systems provide several advantages, including improved water-dispersibility, flavor masking, stability enhancement, reduced volatility, and controlled release; Polysaccharide nanocarriers can be used to construct pH-responsive delivery vehicles to achieve intestinal-targeted delivery and controlled release of bioactive ingredients; Polysaccharides can be used in combination with other biopolymers to form composite delivery systems with enhanced functional attributes.

Ovalbumin (OVA) is the most abundant protein in egg white, with excellent functional properties (e.g., gelling, foaming, emulsifying properties). Nevertheless, OVA has strong allergenicity, which is usually mediated by specific IgE thus results in gut microbiota dysbiosis and causes atopic dermatitis, asthma, and other inflammation actions. Processing technologies and the interactions with other active ingredients can influence the functional properties and allergic epitopes of OVA. This review focuses on the non-thermal processing technologies effects on the functional properties and allergenicity of OVA. Moreover, the research advance about immunomodulatory mechanisms of OVA-mediated food allergy and the role of gut microbiota in OVA allergy was summarized. Finally, the interactions between OVA and active ingredients (such as polyphenols and polysaccharides) and OVA-based delivery systems construction are summarized. Compared with traditional thermal processing technologies, novel non-thermal processing techniques have less damage to OVA nutritional value, which also improve OVA properties. OVA can interact with various active ingredients by covalent and non-covalent interactions during processing, which can alter the structure or allergic epitopes to affect OVA/active components properties. The interactions can promote OVA-based delivery systems construction, such as emulsions, hydrogels, microencapsulation, nanoparticles to encapsulate bioactive components and monitor freshness for improving foods quality and safety.

Plant-derived antioxidants (PD-AOs) are important for food preservation, as well as for human health and nutrition. However, the poor chemical stability and water solubility of many PD-AOs currently limit their application as functional ingredients in foods and pharmaceuticals. Moreover, it is often difficult to isolate and detect specific antioxidants in multi-component systems, which again limits their potential in the food and medical industries. In this review, we highlight recent advances in the use of cyclodextrins (CDs) to overcome these limitations by forming simple, modified and competitive host-guest interactions with PD-AO. The host-guest properties of CDs can be used to enhance the separation efficiency of PD-AOs, as well as to improve their dispersion and stability in food systems. Moreover, the competitive complexation properties of CDs with target molecules can be used to selectively isolate PD-AOs from multi-component systems and develop detection technologies for PD-AOs. Overall, CD-antioxidant interactions have great potential for addressing isolation, detection, and food quality issues.

Type 2 diabetes is caused by persistently high blood sugar levels, which leads to metabolic dysregulation and an increase in the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. High levels of rapidly digestible starches within foods may contribute to high blood sugar levels. Amylase inhibitors can reduce amylase activity, thereby inhibiting starch hydrolysis, and reducing blood sugar levels. Currently, amylase inhibitors are usually chemically synthesized substances, which can have undesirable side effects on the human body. The development of amylase inhibitors from food-grade ingredients that can be incorporated into the human diet is therefore of great interest. Several classes of phytochemicals, including polyphenols and flavonoids, have been shown to inhibit amylase, including certain types of food-grade nanoparticles. In this review, we summarize the main functions and characteristics of amylases within the human body, as well as their interactions with amylase inhibitors. A strong focus is given to the utilization of nanoparticles as amylase inhibitors. The information covered in this article may be useful for the design of functional foods that can better control blood glucose levels, which may help reduce the risk of diabetes and other diet-related diseases.

Novel, innovative approaches like edible gels (hydrogels and oleogels) are important food materials with great scientific interest due to their positive impacts on structural and functional foods and other unique properties. Biopolymers (protein, starch and other polysaccharides) can be excellent and cost-effective materials for the formed edible gels. Recently, natural gums, although also as biopolymers, are preferred as additives to further improve the textural and functional properties of edible gels, which have received extensive attention. However, these studies have not been outlined in previous reviews. In this review, we highlighted the advantages of gums as additives to construct edible gels. Moreover, the various roles (including electrostatic or covalent interactions) for natural gums in regulation of food gel properties (solvent-holding and rheological properties) are highlighted. Finally, the use of natural gums as additives to improve the stability and targeted delivery of phytochemicals in food gels and their application in food systems are summarized. The information covered in this article may be useful for the design of functional foods that can better meet personalized needs of people.

Tea polyphenols (TPs) are the most important active component of tea and have become a research focus among natural products, thanks to their antioxidant, lipid-lowering, liver-protecting, anti-tumor, and other biological activities. Polyphenols can interact with other food components, such as protein, polysaccharides, lipids, and metal ions to further improve the texture, flavor, and sensory quality of food, and are widely used in food fields, such as food preservatives, antibacterial agents and food packaging. However, the instability of TPs under conditions such as light or heat and their low bioavailability in the gastrointestinal environment also hinder their application in food. In this review, we summarized the health benefits of TPs. In order to better use TPs in food, we analyzed the form and mechanism of interaction between TPs and main food components, such as polysaccharides and proteins. Moreover, we reviewed research into optimizing the applications of TPs in food by bio-based delivery systems, such as liposomes, nanoemulsions, and nanoparticles, so as to improve the stability and bioactivity of TPs in food application. As an effective active ingredient, TPs have great potential to be applied in functional food to produce benefits for human health.