Enhanced nutrient delivery through nanoencapsulation techniques: the current trend in food industry

Abstract Nanoencapsulation is a fast-emerging field in food science for the improved delivery of nutrients and nutraceuticals through foods. Some of the nutrients/phytocompounds are associated with poor water-solubility, chemical instability, and/or low oral bioavailability. To overcome such problems, encapsulation would be an ideal/effective strategy. The choice of encapsulation methods varies from one to another according to the physiochemical properties of bioactives, carrier materials, the purpose of application, and so on. The oral bioavailability in terms of rate and extent of availability is far greater for nutrients in encapsulated form with enhanced pharmacokinetic properties in vivo than the free form. In vitro dissolution tests are useful in studying the release pattern of the bioactives and further, establishment of in vitro–in vivo data correlation benefits in predicting the in vivo bioavailability. Moreover, the bioactives can also be engineered for targeted delivery (eg, colon, CNS specific) with the desired/modified therapeutic effects. Application of nanostructures in various food matrices is increasing enormously every day and this technology-driven process is the current trend in food industrial sectors. Overall, this chapter discusses various postsynthesis aspects of nanoformulation, including digestion, absorption of nanoparticles, testing the efficacy of nanoparticles and their targeted delivery.