Fortification by design: A rational approach to designing vitamin D delivery systems for foods and beverages

Over the past few decades, vitamin D deficiency has been recognized as a serious global public health challenge. The World Health Organization has recommended fortification of foods with vitamin D, but this is often challenging because of its low water solubility, poor chemical stability, and low bioavailability. Studies have shown that these challenges can be overcome by encapsulating vitamin D within well-designed delivery systems containing nanoscale or microscale particles. The characteristics of these particles, such as their composition, size, structure, interfacial properties, and charge, can be controlled to attain desired functionality for specific applications. Recently, there has been great interest in the design, production, and application of vitamin-D loaded delivery systems. Many of the delivery systems reported in the literature are unsuitable for widespread application due to the complexity and high costs of the processing operations required to fabricate them, or because they are incompatible with food matrices. In this article, the concept of “fortification by design” is introduced, which involves a systematic approach to the design, production, and testing of colloidal delivery systems for the encapsulation and fortification of oil-soluble vitamins, using vitamin D as a model. Initially, the challenges associated with the incorporation of vitamin D into foods and beverages are reviewed. The fortification by design concept is then described, which involves several steps: (i) selection of appropriate vitamin D form; (ii) selection of appropriate food matrix; (iii) identification of appropriate delivery system; (iv) identification of appropriate production method; (vii) establishment of appropriate testing procedures; and (viii) system optimization.     

Designing emulsion droplets of foods and beverages to enhance delivery of lipophilic bioactive components – a review of recent advances

Lipophilic bioactive compounds such as lipids, vitamins and phytochemicals serve important antioxidant, functional, nutritional and structural roles in the human body. Colloidal systems such as emulsions are particularly suitable matrices for the protection and delivery of these compounds. This article summarises the principal lipophilic bioactives important for human health and challenges associated with their delivery. It discusses the compositional and physical characteristics of emulsions in relation to bioactive delivery, and chemical stability aspects to consider when engineering efficient emulsion delivery systems. The literature shows that aspects such as oil type, droplet size, interfacial composition and solubilisation capacity impact bioactive availability and that their effects are bioactive specific. Therefore, emulsions must be tailored to the bioactives delivered. Much of the present knowledge is based on in vitro studies, and more data from animal and human models are required to better understand the relationship between emulsion characteristics and bioavailability of lipophilic bioactives.     

Structured biopolymer-based delivery systems for encapsulation,protection, and release of lipophilic compounds

Food-grade biopolymers, such as proteins and polysaccharides, can be used to create a diverse range of delivery systems suitable for encapsulating, protecting, and delivering lipophilic functional components, such as ω-3 rich oils, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), oil-soluble vitamins, flavors, colors, and nutraceuticals. This article provides an overview of a number of different approaches that can be used to create structured delivery systems based on biopolymers, including molecular complexation, coacervation, thermodynamic incompatibility, moulding, and extrusion methods. These delivery systems can be produced from food-grade ingredients using simple processing operations (e.g., mixing, homogenizing, and thermal processing). The structure, production, performance, and potential applications of each type of structured delivery system are discussed.     

Nanoemulsions: formation,stability and an account of dietary polyphenol encapsulation

To enhance nutraceutical performance, vehicle systems are required to promote the usage of food supplements, which have shown an increasingly growing demand. These food supplements such as dietary polyphenols are nutritious constituents but with varying solubility, sensitivity to oxygen, light, temperature, or adverse effects encountered during processing, making their incorporation difficult in foods. Additionally, these are bound to the food matrix so tightly, that they are not available to be taken up in the digestive system causing less absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. To counter these challenges, polyphenols are encapsulated in nanoemulsion-based delivery systems which forms an effective approach to enhance and improve their bioavailability. Because of their small droplet size, these exhibit various benefits over conventional emulsions making them suitable for usage in the food industry. This review summarises the basic characteristics of nanoemulsions and their application to enhance the stability of polyphenols.     

Recent development of lactoferrin-based vehicles for the delivery of bioactive compounds: Complexes,emulsions, and nanoparticles

BackgroundLactoferrin (LF) is an iron-binding glycoprotein that exhibits a variety of potentially beneficial biological activities and has favorable safety and biocompatibility characteristics. For these reasons, LF has been widely used as a functional component in the medical, food, and cosmetic industries. Applications of LF-based materials, such as complexes, nanoparticles, hydrogels and emulsions, to encapsulate, protect and deliver bioactive compounds is gaining increasing attention.Scope and approachThis review highlights the considerable potential of LF-based encapsulation and delivery systems by summarizing research progress on the structure, physicochemical properties, and biological activities of LF. In particular, it highlights advances in utilizing LF-based nanocarriers as natural vehicles for nutraceutical delivery and release, as well as strategies for encapsulating LF as a functional ingredient.Key findings and conclusionsFunctional LF-biopolymer complexes can be formed by heat treatment, covalent conjugation or electrostatic assembly under appropriate fabrication conditions. These complexes have been shown to be highly effective for the oral delivery of nutraceuticals and drugs. LF can also be utilized to fabricate emulsions, nanoparticles, or microgels to improve the stability and bioaccessibility of bioactive components. However, there are still a number of challenges associated with optimizing the performance of LF-based delivery systems so that they can be used in commercial applications.     

Advances in smart delivery of food bioactive compounds using stimuli-responsive carriers: Responsive mechanism,contemporary challenges,and prospects

Many important food bioactive compounds are plant secondary metabolites that have traditional applications for health promotion and disease prevention. However, the chemical instability and poor bioavailability of these compounds represent major challenges to researchers. In the last decade, therefore, major impetus has been given for the research and development of advanced carrier systems for the delivery of natural bioactive molecules. Among them, stimuli-responsive carriers hold great promise for simultaneously improving stability, bioavailability, and more importantly delivery and on-demand release of intact bioactive phytochemicals to target sites in response to certain stimuli or combination of them (e.g., pH, temperature, oxidant, enzyme, and irradiation) that would eventually enhance therapeutic outcomes and reduce side effects. Hybrid formulations (e.g., inorganic–organic complexes) and multi-stimuli-responsive formulations have demonstrated great potential for future studies. Therefore, this review systematically compiles and assesses the recent advances on the smart delivery of food bioactive compounds, particularly quercetin, curcumin, and resveratrol through stimuli-responsive carriers, and critically reviews their functionality, underlying triggered-release mechanism, and therapeutic potential. Finally, major limitations, contemporary challenges, and possible solutions/future research directions are highlighted. Much more research is needed to optimize the processing parameters of existing formulations and to develop novel ones for lead food bioactive compounds to facilitate their food and nutraceutical applications.     

Emulsion-based delivery systems for lipophilic bioactive components

ABSTRACT:  There is a pressing need for edible delivery systems to encapsulate, protect, and release bioactive lipids within the food, medical, and pharmaceutical industries. The fact that these delivery systems must be edible puts constraints on the type of ingredients and processing operations that can be used to create them. Emulsion technology is particularly suited for the design and fabrication of delivery systems for encapsulating bioactive lipids. This review provides a brief overview of the major bioactive lipids that need to be delivered within the food industry (for example, ω-3 fatty acids, carotenoids, and phytosterols), highlighting the main challenges to their current incorporation into foods. We then provide an overview of a number of emulsion-based technologies that could be used as edible delivery systems by the food and other industries, including conventional emulsions, multiple emulsions, multilayer emulsions, solid lipid particles, and filled hydrogel particles. Each of these delivery systems could be produced from food-grade (GRAS) ingredients (for example, lipids, proteins, polysaccharides, surfactants, and minerals) using simple processing operations (for example, mixing, homogenizing, and thermal processing). For each type of delivery system, we describe its structure, preparation, advantages, limitations, and potential applications. This knowledge can be used to facilitate the selection of the most appropriate emulsion-based delivery system for specific applications.     

微乳液凝胶颗粒制备及其应用研究进展

亲脂性活性分子如维生素、脂肪酸和香精油等对氧、热、光等敏感,在食品加工或人体生理运输过程中易被氧化和降解,限制了其在食品工业中的应用。在可用于递送亲脂性分子的技术中,乳状微凝胶颗粒是一类相对较新的软固体颗粒递送体系,其因离散程度的大小和“智能”释放特性而引起越来越多的关注。利用微乳液凝胶颗粒包载亲脂活性分子能够显著提高其理化稳定性,并将亲脂活性分子在靶向位置有效释放以提高其生物利用度。本文通过总结国内外文献,综述了微乳液凝胶颗粒的研究进展,重点讨论了微乳液凝胶颗粒的制备、控制释放特性和主要应用。最后对目前食品脂溶性分子的微乳液凝胶颗粒传递体系的问题和发展进行分析和展望,旨在为微乳液凝胶颗粒的应用提供参考。     

Food-grade nanoemulsions: formulation, fabrication, properties, performance, biological fate, and potential toxicity

Nanoemulsions fabricated from food-grade ingredients are being increasingly utilized in the food industry to encapsulate, protect, and deliver lipophilic functional components, such as biologically-active lipids (e.g., ω-3 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid) and oil-soluble flavors, vitamins, preservatives, and nutraceuticals. The small size of the particles in nanoemulsions (r<100 nm) means that they have a number of potential advantages over conventional emulsions-higher stability to droplet aggregation and gravitational separation, high optical clarity, ability to modulate product texture, and, increased bioavailability of lipophilic components. On the other hand, there may also be some risks associated with the oral ingestion of nanoemulsions, such as their ability to change the biological fate of bioactive components within the gastrointestinal tract and the potential toxicity of some of the components used in their fabrication. This review article provides an overview of the current status of nanoemulsion formulation, fabrication, properties, applications, biological fate, and potential toxicity with emphasis on systems suitable for utilization within the food and beverage industry.     

Food-grade filled hydrogels for oral delivery of lipophilic active ingredients: Temperature-triggered release microgels

Delivery systems are often needed to encapsulate lipophilic active agents, protect them during storage, and then release them within the mouth. In this study, gelatin and caseinate were used to fabricate temperature-sensitive filled hydrogel particles. Filled hydrogel microspheres were formed by electrostatic complexation of caseinate and gelatin in the presence of caseinate-coated lipid droplets. This was achieved by mixing aqueous 1% sodium caseinate and 1% gelatin solutions (volume ratio 1:2) at pH 5.8 with an oil-in-water emulsion. The majority of lipid droplets were trapped within the hydrogel microspheres. Turbidity and viscosity measurements of the hydrogels indicated that hydrogel particles dissociated upon heating because of gelatin melting (around 35 °C). Light scattering and confocal fluorescence microscopy indicated that lipid droplets were released from the gelatin-based hydrogel particles after oral processing, which was attributed to hydrogel melting under simulated mouth conditions. Our results suggest that hydrogel particles based on electrostatic complexation of sodium caseinate and gelatin could be useful as oral delivery systems for lipophilic active agents.     

Potential biological fate of ingested nanoemulsions: influence of particle characteristics

Edible nanoemulsions have great potential for utilization in the food and beverage industries to encapsulate, protect, and deliver lipophilic functional components claimed to have health benefits ("nutraceuticals"), such as carotenoids, flavonoids, phytosterols, polyunsaturated lipids, and oil-soluble vitamins. Nanoemulsions have a number of possible advantages over conventional emulsions for these applications, including high optical clarity, high stability to particle aggregation and gravitational separation, and increased bioavailability of lipophilic substances. Nevertheless, there are concerns about the potential risks associated with ingestion of nanoemulsions due to their ability to alter the behavior of bioactive components within the gastrointestinal tract. At present, there is still a relatively poor understanding of the biological fate of nanoemulsions in the human GI tract, which is holding back the rational design and application of nanoemulsion-based delivery systems for lipophilic bioactive components. This article provides a brief review of the current status of the formation, properties, and potential biological fate of food-grade nanoemulsions. In particular, it focuses on the influence of particle characteristics, such as size and interfacial properties, on the digestion and absorption of lipid nanoparticles.     

蛋白质微胶的制备、形成机制及应用

蛋白质微胶具有优异的尺寸效应、生物兼容性和疏水分子荷载能力,可望成为新一代功能性食品配料。本文对蛋白微胶的制备技术,形成机制及调控进行了综述,重点讨论蛋白质聚集行为控制与蛋白质微胶形成的关系;提出营养微胶的概念;对蛋白质微胶形成时蛋白与植物多酚的相互作用进行了分析;阐述了蛋白质微胶的界面吸附行为和凝胶特性及其在真实食品体系的应用情况。     

Correction to: Nanoemulsions as delivery systems for lipophilic nutraceuticals: strategies for improving their formulation,stability, functionality and bioavailability

Food Science and Biotechnology - The article “Nanoemulsions as delivery systems for lipophilic nutraceuticals: strategies for improving their formulation, stability, functionality and...     

Protein‐Based Delivery Systems for the Nanoencapsulation of Food Ingredients

Many proteins possess functional attributes that make them suitable for the encapsulation of bioactive agents, such as nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. This article reviews the state of the art of protein‐based nanoencapsulation approaches. The physicochemical principles underlying the major techniques for the fabrication of nanoparticles, nanogels, and nanofibers from animal, botanical, and recombinant proteins are described. Protein modification approaches that can be used to extend their functionality in these nanocarrier systems are also described, including chemical, physical, and enzymatic treatments. The encapsulation, retention, protection, and release of bioactive agents in different protein‐based nanocarriers are discussed. Finally, some of the major challenges in the design and fabrication of protein‐based delivery systems are highlighted.     

界面工程设计调控油脂基乳液递送体系中脂溶性营养素生物利用率的研究进展

膳食补充已日渐成为维持人类身体健康的重要干预手段。随着高通量筛选技术的发展，越来越多的营养素被挖掘出来。但很多营养素为脂溶性营养素，其水溶性低、稳定性差、生物利用率低。为此，脂溶性营养素递送体系的设计与开发受到了广泛关注。其中乳液递送体系独具特色，且已被证实能有效改善营养素生物利用率。依据乳液中两相界面的特点，本文综述了油脂基乳液递送体系的界面工程（包括简单界面、复杂界面）对所含脂溶性营养素生物利用率的调控，为改善脂溶性营养素生物效价提供参考。     

生物利用度模型在纳米载药中的研究与应用

药物的生物利用度是表示药物分子以各种途径或形式进入机体后,经口腔、胃、肠等消化吸收后进入体循环的比例参数。生物利用度是反映药物在生物体内吸收、分布、代谢和排泄情况的重要依据。在医药等领域,纳米药物递送体系是提高活性分子生物利用度非常有效的手段,药物发挥药效时需要从载体中释放才能被充分吸收。在生物活性分子的研发过程中,可通过体外模型和动物体内模型来模拟药物在机体的作用过程,以此推测药物的生物利用度。目前,广泛应用的生物利用度模型主要包括体外模拟释药模型、体外模拟消化模型、细胞模型、体内药代动力学模型等。该研究主要对常见的生物利用度研究模型构建和应用等进行总结,以期为今后纳米药物递送体系的生物利用度模型研究和拓新提供参考。     

乳液输送体系包埋海洋源脂溶性活性物质研究进展

海洋源脂溶性活性物质表现出许多潜在的有益生物学功能,如增强机体免疫力、缓解疲劳、抗氧化、改善生长发育等,然而其水溶性差、易降解、在胃肠道中损失率高等劣势降低了它们生物利用度.乳液输送体系可作为海洋源脂溶性活性物质递送载体,可以有效改善其物理化学不稳定性,提高生物利用度.文章介绍了运载海洋源脂溶性活性物质的乳液体系类型及...     

Road map and principles for built environment sustainability

The built environment, defined by the facilities and civil infrastructure systems that people use, is the fundamental foundation upon which a society exists, develops, and survives. As the main provider and the life cycle custodian of the built environment, the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry plays a critical role in determining the quality, integrity, and longevity of this foundation. In the execution of these two roles, provider and custodian, the AEC industry has had a major direct and indirect impact on the natural environment, contributing both directly and indirectly to natural resource depletion and degradation, waste generation and accumulation, and environmental impact and degradation. These impacts are not unique to the AEC industry. Other industries face similar challenges, and for many years, a wide range of constituencies within them have been attempting the implementation of the concept of sustainability within what these industries do, how they do it, and with what as a possible mechanism to slow, reduce, eliminate these impacts, and even restore conditions to a better state. In the pursuit of sustainability, the AEC industry faces challenges posed by the unique attributes and characteristics nature of facilities and civil infrastructure systems, the complexities of the current processes for their delivery and use, and the diverse set of resources required for both their delivery and their use. This paper offers a road map and an initial set of principles to implement built environment sustainability as a starting point for an ongoing, industry-wide dialogue and debate.     

Interrelationships between cows,calves, and humans in cow-calf contact systems—An interview study among Norwegian dairy farmers

In recent years, the common dairy farming practice of early separation of dam and calf has received increased attention. Our aim was to explore how Norwegian dairy farmers with cow-calf contact (CCC) systems apply these systems in practice, and how they experience and perceive the interrelationships between cows and calves and humans within these systems. We conducted in-depth interviews with 17 farmers from 12 dairy farms and analyzed responses inductively, inspired by the grounded theory approach. The farmers in our study practiced their CCC systems differently from each other and had varying as well as common perceptions about these systems. Calves' intake of colostrum was not seen as a challenge, regardless of practice. The farmers generally perceived that any aggression shown by cows toward humans was merely an exhibition of cows' natural protective instinct. However, when the farmers had good relationships with their cows and the cows felt safe around them, the farmers could handle the calves and build good relationships with them as well. The farmers experienced the calves learning a lot from their dams. Most of the farmers' dairy housing systems were not adapted for CCC, and CCC systems could require modification in terms of placing greater emphasis on observing the animals and making adjustments in the barn and around milking. Some thought having CCC on pasture was the best and most natural, while others were reluctant to have CCC on pasture. The farmers encountered some challenges with stressed animals after later separation, but several had found methods to minimize stress. Generally, they had different opinions about workload, but agreed they spent less time on calf feeding. We found that these farmers were thriving with their CCC systems; they all described positive emotions around seeing cows and their calves together. Animal welfare and natural behavior were important to the farmers.     

Development of oral food-grade delivery systems: current knowledge and future challenges

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the development of new and efficient oral food delivery systems as tools to prevent disease and promote human health and well-being. Such vehicles are sought to protect bioactive ingredients added to food while controlling and targeting their release as they pass through the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT). This review aims to summarize the key concepts of food delivery systems, their characterization and evaluation. Particularly, evaluation of their performance within the human GIT is discussed. To this end an overview of several in vivo and in vitro methods currently applied for the study of such systems is given. Although considered to be still in its infancy, this promising field of research is likely to infiltrate into real products through rational design. In order for such efforts to materialize into real products some challenges still need to be met and are discussed herein. Overall, it seems that adopting a comprehensive pharmacological approach and relevant cutting edge tools are likely to facilitate innovations and help elucidate and perhaps tailor delivery systems' behavior in the human GIT.