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The current study was attempted to evaluate the effect of cold plasma (CP; 10 and 15 min) and ultrasonication (UT; 20 and 30 min) on the oil extraction efficiency (OEE) from Milk Thistle Seed (MTS) along with determining the quality parameters of the extracted oil, e.g. Rancimat oxidative stability, acidity value (AV), peroxide value (PV), total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity over storage times (1, 30 and 60 days, T:4 °C). Our results revealed that treatment of MTS by CP and UT increased the OEE up to 29% (15 min) and 24% (30 min), respectively. In addition, applying these treatments to oil extraction led to lower AV (CP:49%, UT:46%) and PV (CP:38%, UT:35%) following 60 days’ storage. Moreover, the oil of treated MTS had higher phenolic content (CP:74%, UT:66%) and antioxidant activity (CP:156%, UT:127%) compared to samples extracted without any treatment. Besides, applying CP for 15 min increased the amount of α-tocopherol (157%), while UT (30 min) reduced its content (76%). Also, examination of fatty acid profile showed that CP (15 min) increased linolenic acid (2.8%) and arachidonic acid (35%) and decreased oleic acid (1.66%) and linoleic acid (2.1%), whereas UT (30 min) increased linoleic acid (0.27%), linolenic acid (8%) and arachidonic acid (41%) and decreased oleic acid (2%) in final oil samples. To conclude, results of this study noticed that introducing CP and UT have remarkable capabilities to improve both the OEE and oil quality which could be beneficial from both economic and quality viewpoints for the industry.

The issue of achieving controlled or targeted release of bioactive compounds with specific functional properties is a complex task that requires addressing several factors, including the type of bioactive, the nature of the delivery system, and the environmental conditions during transportation and storage. This paper deals with extensive reporting for the identification of original articles using Scopus and Google Scholar based on active packaging as a novel packaging technology that controls the release of antimicrobial agents encapsulated into carriers in the food packaging systems. For evidence-based search, the studies were extracted from 2015 to 2020 and screened using the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Following the review and screening of publications, 32 peer-reviewed articles were subjected to systematic analysis. The preliminary search indicated that the encapsulation of bioactives enhances their bioavailability and stability. From a theoretical viewpoint, mathematical models play an important role in understanding and predicting the release behavior of bioactives during transportation and storage, thus facilitating the development of new packaging material by a systematic approach. However, only a few studies could formulate parameters for mathematical models in order to achieve the specific release mechanism regulated for the quality and safety of foods. Therefore, this paper will cover all encapsulation approaches, active packaging, and mathematical modeling in the food industry into structural form and analyze the challenges faced by the complex nature of active packaging in real food systems.

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Bioactive compounds may lose their antioxidant activity (e.g., phenolic compounds) at elevated temperatures, enhanced oxidative conditions and severe light exposures so they should be protected by various strategies such as nano/microencapsulation methods. Encapsulation technology has been employed as a proper method for using antioxidant ingredients and to provide easy dispersibility of antioxidants in all matrices including food and pharmaceutical products. It can improve the food fortification processes, release of antioxidant ingredients, and extending the shelf-life and bioavailability of them when ingested in the intestine. In this study, our main goal is to have an overview of the influence of nanoencapsulation on the bioactivity and bioavailability, and cellular activities of antioxidant ingredients in different delivery systems. Also, the effect of encapsulation process conditions, storage conditions, carrier wall materials, and release profile on the antioxidant activity of different natural bioactives are explained. Finally, analytical techniques for measuring antioxidant activity of nanoencapsulated ingredients will be covered.

Oral bioavailability is the key to the bioefficiency of food bioactive ingredients; it evaluates the relationship between foods and their health benefits. The analysis of the main factors limiting the oral bioavailability (bioaccessibility, absorption, and transformation) has led to the proposal of classification systems for pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals (Biopharmaceuticals Classification System and Nutraceutical Bioavailability Classification Scheme). Based on the relevant studies published in the last decade, this review presents the essential aspects regarding the factors limiting the oral bioavailability of the biocomponents and different in vitro methods used to investigate the mechanisms involved in the digestion, absorption, and metabolism of biocomponents, particularly encapsulated bioactive compounds. Oral bioavailability investigated by in vitro studies provides the food and drug manufacturers with information to formulate delivery systems more efficiently and to determine the dosage of biocomponents for increase the health benefits and avoid or reduce the risk of toxicity.

Background The essential fatty acids (EFAs) are recognized as functional oils for humans as they possess nutritional and pharmaceutical benefits and can promote whole-body health in different ways. Scope and approach This review describes and classifies different types of EFAs, gives an overview of the spray drying process alongside its probable challenges for encapsulation of functional oils. Also, various used wall materials, and the effects of the process conditions on the encapsulation efficiency of functional oils have been discussed. Moreover, it focuses on the spray drying encapsulation of functional oils derived from marine and plant-based sources in recent years (2016-2019), and the fortification of different foods with encapsulated functional oils. Key findings and conclusions Protecting EFAs through efficient methods such as spray drying encapsulation and enriching the various foods with encapsulated functional oils is an emerging field, which has drawn lots of attention these days. The wall materials (carriers) and spray drying conditions are two major influential factors that can easily affect the properties of final produced powders.

Background Essential oils (EOs) have received much attention owing to their remarkable biological activities and health promoting benefits, but they are easily oxidized and chemically unstable as well as having a low resistance to environmental stresses like light, oxygen, and temperature. Furthermore, their physiochemical properties may limit their application as active compounds in food and pharmaceuticals due to some restrictions such as less solubility, poor bioavailability and quick release. Scope and approach Nanoencapsulation techniques can be used for entrapment of essential oils to uphold their original characteristics during processing and to improve their physiochemical properties as well as to enhance their health promoting effects. The prominence of nanocarriers in the arena of nanotechnology cannot be denied. The present article focuses specifically on loading of EOs into biopolymeric nanocarriers, their functionalities and innovative developments in preparation approaches. Additionally, the present state of the art loading of numerous essential oils via biopolymeric nanocarriers have been enclosed and tabulated well. Key findings and conclusions This review highlights the application of EO-loaded biopolymeric nanocarriers into active food packaging being promising antimicrobial and antioxidant agents which have shown practical results in order to retard the oxidation phenomenon as well as microbial growth in different food products. Further studies are needed for exploring the application of EO-loaded biopolymeric nanocarriers into active food packaging to assure their commercial exploitation.

Recent trends in research and investigation on nanoemulsion based products is the result of many reasons such as food security as a global concern, increasing demand for highly efficient food and agricultural products and technological need for products with the ability of manipulation and optimization in their properties. Nanoemulsions are defined as emulsions made up of nano sized droplets dispersed in another immiscible liquid which exhibit properties distinguishing them from conventional emulsions and making them suitable for encapsulation, delivery and formulations of bioactive ingredients in different fields including drugs, food and agriculture. The objective of this paper is to present a general overview of nanoemulsions definition, their preparation methods, properties and applications in food and agricultural sectors. Due to physicochemical properties of the nanoemulsion composition, creating nanosized droplets requires high/low energy methods that can be supplied by special devices or techniques. An overview about the mechanisms of these methods is also presented in this paper which are commonly used to prepare nanoemulsions. Finally, some recent works about the application of nanoemulsions in food and agricultural sectors along with challenges and legislations restricting their applications is discussed in the last sections of the current study.

Background Electrospinning is an approach relying on the processing of (bio)polymeric solutions/melts over high electrical voltages to generate fibrous micro/nano-structures of proper nature; with post optimization of process variables. Scope and approach The present study will offer an overview on recent advancements in electrospinning-based fabrication of nanocarriers for nanoencapsulation of different bioactive components. The main principles, instrumental set-up, pros and cons of electrospinning approach, its updated status, plus pivotal process parameters influencing fiber characteristics are dealt in detail. Also, recent studies on bioactive-loaded electrospun nanofibers produced by various polymers/biopolymers and through different electrospinning techniques have been covered. Finally, the current challenges and future perspectives of electrospun fibrous mats for encapsulation of food bioactive ingredients has been discussed. Key findings and conclusions In virtue of its flexibility and simplicity, electrospinning technique can be utilized to develop fibrilar structures of meticulous configuration, morphology, and size; offering benefits such as well-ordered release mechanisms, modified dissolution rates, improved thermal/physicochemical stability, taste masking of bioactive agents, and many more. The critical features of the (bio)polymers, i.e., their biocompatibility, degradation behavior, as well as mechanical attributes are some crucial issues to take into account when the resulting electrospun fibers are utilized for food/pharmaceutical applications. By the accurate choice of either the formulation ingredients or the processing circumstances, nanocarriers based on electrospun fibers have extended novel horizons in the delivery of bioactive ingredients to develop novel formulations.

In recent years, researchers' concern for the applications of nanotechnologies in the food industry has grown exponentially. This has led to a major change in both consumer and producer behaviours. Thus, recent findings have shown that consumers increasingly prefer value-added foods, which provide significant health benefits. In this context, new approaches have emerged in the design of functional foods, such as the ‘reverse engineering’ approach that ensures the necessary conditions for designing sustainable ‘nano-food’ systems, in accordance with the requirements of the consumer. The stages of nano-food design using the reverse engineering method, the factors affecting the bioavailability of nanoencapsulated biocomponents and the fortification of foods with bioactive-loaded nanocarriers are briefly analyzed in this review.

One of the emerging and recent strategies to combat cancer is application of natural bioactive compounds and phytochemicals. Carotenoids including lycopene, β-carotene, astaxanthin, crocin, β-cryptoxanthin, and lutein, are the main group of plant pigments which play important roles in the prevention and healing process of different diseases including cancer. The pharmacological use of carotenoid compounds is frequently limited by their low bioavailability and solubility as they are mainly lipophilic compounds. The present study focuses on the current data on formulation of different carotenoid nanodelivery systems for cancer therapy and a brief overview of the obtained results. Encapsulation of carotenoids within different nanocarriers is a remarkable approach and innovative strategy for the improvement of health-promoting features and particularly, cancer prevention/treatment roles of these compounds through enhancing their solubility, cellular uptake, membrane permeation, bioaccessibility, and stability. There is various nanocarrier for loading carotenoids including polymeric/biopolymeric, lipid-based, inorganic, and hybrid nanocarriers. Almost in all relevant studies, these nano delivery systems have shown promising results in improving the efficiency of carotenoids in cancer therapy. [Formula: see text].

Nowadays, many consumers prefer foods with a high content of nutraceuticals that contribute to the prevention or healing of chronic diseases. Therefore, in recent years, more and more researchers have studied the bioefficiency, safety, and toxicity of nutraceutical-enriched foods. The key stage of nutraceutical bioefficiency is oral bioavailability, which involves the following processes: the release of nutraceuticals from food matrices or nanocarriers in gastrointestinal fluids, the solubilization of nutraceuticals and their interaction with other components of gastrointestinal fluids, the absorption of nutraceuticals by the epithelial layer, and the chemical and biochemical transformations into epithelial cells. These processes are endogenous factors that greatly influence the bioavailability of nutraceuticals. In addition to endogenous factors, the bioavailability of nutraceuticals is also affected by exogenous factors, such as: physicochemical properties of nutraceuticals, food matrix, food processing and storage, and so forth. Both the endogenous and exogenous factors are comprehensively analyzed in this review. Thus, the physicochemical and enzymatic processes involved in food digestion are described, highlighting the role of each stage of gastrointestinal tract (mouth, stomach, and intestine) in nutraceuticals bioaccessibility. The structure and functions of the mucus and epithelial layers, the mechanisms involved in the active and passive transport of nutraceuticals through the cell membrane, and phase I and phase II metabolism reactions are also discussed. Finally, this review focuses on several types of bioactive-loaded nanocarriers such as lipid-based, surfactant-based, and biopolymeric nanocarriers that improve the bioavailability of nutraceuticals.

Alginate-based nanocarriers are propitious vehicles used for the delivery of bioactive compounds (bioactives). In this area, calcium alginate and sodium alginate are the most promising wall materials because they are nontoxic, comparatively cheap, simple in production, biocompatible and biodegradable. In this review, we have highlighted different alginate-based nanocarriers such as nanoparticles, nanofibers, nanoemulsions, nanocomplexes, and nanohydrogels; also entrapment of different bioactives within alginate nanocarriers and their bioavailability in the gastric environment has been comprehensively discussed. Being biopolymers, alginates can be exploited as emulsifiers/ encapsulants for entrapment and delivery of different bioactives such as vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, peptides, essential oils, bioactive oils, polyphenols and carotenoids. Furthermore, the use of alginate-based nanocarriers in combination with other polysaccharides/ emulsifiers was recognized as the most effective and favorable approach for the protection, delivery and sustained release of bioactives.

Electrospinning (ES) is one of the most investigated processes for the convenient, adaptive, and scalable manufacturing of nano/micro/macro-fibers. With this technique, virgin and composite fibers may be made in different designs using a wide range of polymers (both natural and synthetic). Electrospun protein fibers (EPF) shave desirable capabilities such as biocompatibility, low toxicity, degradability, and solvolysis. However, issues with the proteins' processibility have limited their widespread utilization. This paper gives an overview of the features of protein-based biomaterials, which are already being employed and has the potential to be exploited for ES. State-of-the-art examples showcasing the usefulness of EPFs in the food and biomedical industries, including tissue engineering, wound dressings, and drug delivery, provided in the applications. The EPFs' future perspective and the challenge they pose are presented at the end. It is believed that protein and biopolymeric nanofibers will soon be manufactured on an industrial scale owing to the limitations of employing synthetic materials, as well as enormous potential of nanofibers in other fields, such as active food packaging, regenerative medicine, drug delivery, cosmetic, and filtration.

Beta-carotene (BC) as an efficient pro-vitamin is effective in improving vision, immune system and cognitive function as well as preventing coronary diseases and cancer. However, besides its poor chemical stability, the high lipophilic nature of BC reduces its dispersibility and consequently bioavailability which limits its application into food, pharmaceutical and nutraceuticals. Different carriers with vesicular or particulate structures have been studied and utilized for promoting BC solubility, dispersibility, and protection against diverse operational or environmental stresses and also controlling BC release and subsequent bioaccessibility. The current study, therefore reviews different micro/nanocarriers reported on BC encapsulation with special focusing on its bioavailability. Liposomal structures have been successfully used for enhancing BC stability and bioavailability. Besides, emulsion-based carriers including Pickering emulsions, nanoemulsions and microemulsions have been widely evaluated for BC encapsulation and protection. In addition, lipid-based nanoparticles and nanostructural carriers have also been applied successfully for this context. Moreover, gel structures including emulgels, hydrogels and oleogels are studied in some researches. Most of these delivery systems led to higher hydro-solubility and dispersibility of BC which consequently increased its bioavailability; thereupon could promote its application into food, cosmetic and nutraceutical products. However, for remarkable incorporation of BC and other bioactive compounds into edible products, the safety and toxicological aspects of these delivery system especially those designed in nano scale should be addressed in the further researches.

The fatty acids (FAs) that cannot be generated in the human body are called ‘essential fatty acids’ (EFAs). Those EFAs with health-promoting properties are called ‘functional oils’, the protection of which is critical to ensure their benefits. Functional oils are categorized according to their source to marine-based and plant-based EFAs. This chapter discusses the main groups of EFAs, spray drying encapsulation of EFAs mentioning its benefits and drawbacks, different potential wall materials for coating EFAs, and the effective factors on microencapsulation efficiency (MEE) of the functional oils. Moreover, the oxidative stability of microencapsulated EFAs, analytical methods for this measurement, the limit of EFAs’ oxidation according to food regulation standards, and, ultimately, the fortification of food products with spray dried fictional oils are presented. Based on the information obtained from the previous research, it can be concluded that spray drying encapsulation is an efficient method for the protection of functional oils, with the ability to produce powders with more than 90% MEE and high oxidative stability. Emulsification characteristics and spray drying conditions are the main influential parameters on the quality of functional oil powders, which have also been discussed in this chapter.

Many natural food bioactive ingredients are sensitive to processing and environmental conditions and thus it is necessary to improve their stability to create products with long shelf lives. Encapsulation by spray drying is a widely used economical strategy to tackle this issue, and many scientists and manufacturers are using it in their research, development, and production activities. In this review, the spray-drying process is described, as are recent trends in the encapsulation of fish oils, essential fatty acids, probiotics, phenolic compounds, and natural food colorants. The formulation and process conditions used in previous research and the results obtained are tabulated. Also, new innovations in bioactive encapsulation using nano–spray drying are described.

The extraction of anthocyanins from saffron (Crocus sativus) flower's tepal by microwave‐assisted extraction (MAE) was studied. The independent factors were solvent to sample ratio (10:1‒100:1), extraction temperature (35‒75°C), and time (5‒15 min). Maximum irradiation power in all experiments was 360 W. We applied response surface methodology (RSM) in order to determine optimum processing conditions which give maximum extraction efficiency (mg cyanidin‐3‐glucoside/g dried tepals). It was found that the influence of solvent ratio was more important for extraction yield than two other variables. Extraction conditions which maximized the extracted anthocyanins content were ratio of solvent to sample 77.5 ml/g, temperature 48°C, and extraction time of 9.3 min that resulted in 101 mg anthocyanins/g. In addition, MAE was a rapid and efficient technique for saffron anthocyanins due to disruption of cell walls under microwave irradiation, which was observed by microstructural analysis.

Phenolic compounds (phenolics) have received great attention in the food, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries due to their health-promoting attributes. However, their extensive use is limited mainly due to their poor water dispersibility and instability under both processing conditions and/or gastrointestinal interactions, affecting their bioavailability/bioaccessibility. Therefore, different nanocarriers have been widely used to encapsulate phenolics and overcome the aforementioned challenges. To the best of our knowledge, besides many research studies, no comprehensive review on encapsulation of phenolics by microemulsions (MEs) and nanoemulsions (NEs) has been published so far. The present study was therefore attempted to review the loading of phenolics into MEs and NEs. In addition, the fundamental characteristics of the developed systems such as stability, encapsulation efficiency, cytotoxicity, bioavailability and releasing rate are also discussed. Both MEs and NEs are proved as appropriate vehicles to encapsulate and protect phenolics which may expand their applications in foods, supplements and pharmaceuticals.

Nowadays, the application of nano/microencapsulated natural bioactives in food products has been an ever-growing platform in the realm of encapsulation strategy. Indeed, the forerunners in the food industry are grappling with the development of label-friendly food products, which are formulated by nature-inspired food components and can endow health-benefiting effects. Controlled release nano/microsystems reckon as effective tools for the delivery of natural food bioactive agents as they could engineer efficacious structures to shield the bioactives from the deleterious conditions of food processing and storage time, and assure their safe delivery to the target sites. This chapter essentially offers facile and efficient nano/microencapsulation strategies to boost water-solubility, (bio)stability, and even functionality of natural bioactives/nutraceuticals with an emphasis on their food applicabilities. Firstly, the formulation strategies for nano/microencapsulation purposes are comprehensively reviewed. Then, an overview of encapsulation for food applications, including the selection of the target bioactive(s), proper carrier agent(s), and encapsulation approach, together with the controlled-release concepts of bioactive, characterization of encapsulated biomolecules, and the evaluation of their bioavailability is critically summarized. The strategies for the incorporation of encapsulated bioactives into different food products are highlighted. Lastly, the market perspective and current status concerning the commercialization of encapsulated food compounds are systematically introduced.

With the emergence of nanocarriers for offering smart transformers improving the bioavailability and functionality of food bioactive compounds, a critical issue is experimental and analytical evaluation of the bioactive-loaded nanocarriers; so, further technical advancements are necessary for the precise structural characterization of these nanodelivery systems and application of sophisticated analytical techniques. Here, we have portrayed the current progress in the structural characterization approaches including X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and small-angle X-ray scattering/small-angle neutron scattering as powerful and informative tools to have a better control on the design, development, and appraisal of nanoengineered bioactive delivery systems. Different examples and case studies have been tabulated along with illustrative and schematic representation of relevant results. An emerging view concerning the challenges for future structural characterization of these systems is also discussed in detail.

Efficient characterization of the physicochemical attributes of bioactive-loaded micro/nano-vehicles is crucial for the successful product development. The introduction of outstanding science-based strategies and techniques makes it possible to realize how the characteristics of the formulation ingredients affect the structural and (bio)functional properties of the final bioactive-loaded carriers. The important points to be solved, at a microscopic level, are investigating how the features of the formulation ingredients affect the morphology, surface, size, dispersity, as well as the particulate interactions within bioactive-comprising nano/micro-delivery systems. This review presents a detailed description concerning the application of advanced microscopy techniques, i.e., confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) in characterizing the attributes of nano/microcarriers for the efficient delivery of bioactive compounds. Furthermore, the fundamental principles of these approaches, instrumentation, specific applications, and the strategy to choose the most proper technique for different carriers has been discussed.