Protection and controlled release of vitamin C by different micro/nanocarriers.

Ascorbic acid, known as vitamin C, is an important antioxidant and food ingredient, and highly sensitive to environmental conditions, which makes its incorporation into food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products more difficult. The evaluation of its nano/microencapsulation enables the improvement of its stability and controlled release. There are various investigations regarding ascorbic acid encapsulation; however, a deep study related to the scale-up of encapsulation process, its application into food products and digestibility study are still needed. This review highlights the main physicochemical and health properties of vitamin C, recent advances of its encapsulation into micro/nanocarriers, and application in food products. Also, the controlled release and bioavailability of encapsulated forms within different carriers is underlined. The results of published studies clearly show that vitamin C can be successfully protected within micro/nanoencapsulation systems and it can be applied as an efficient ingredient in the formulation of various food products such as bakery goods.

Addition of milk to coffee beverages; the effect on functional, nutritional, and sensorial properties.

To date, there exists a debate on the effect of milk added to coffee infusions/beverages concerning the nutritional quality of coffee and the functional properties of its phenolic compounds. Yet, the full nutritional quality and functional properties of a coffee beverage without a significant negative impact on its sensorial profile are highly desired by the consumers. Negative/masking, positive, and neutral effects of milk on the antioxidant activity and bioavailability of coffee phenolics (particularly, chlorogenic acids) have been reported. Some potential factors including the type and amount of milk added, type of coffee beverage, the composition of both milk (protein and fat) and coffee (phenolic compounds), preparation method, assays used to measure antioxidant properties, and sampling size may account for the various reported findings. Interactions between phenolic compounds in coffee and milk proteins could account as the main responsible aspect for the reported masking/negative impact of milk on the antioxidant activity and bioaccessibility/bioavailability of coffee bioactives. However, considering the interactions between milk components and coffee phenolics, which result in the loss of their functionality, the role of milk fat globules and the milk fat globule membrane can also be crucial, but this has not been addressed in the literature so far.HighlightsIn most cases, milk is added to the coffee beverages in several various ways.Effect of milk on the nutritional/functional properties of coffee is controversial.Enough evidence suggests negative effects of milk addition on properties of coffee.Interactions of coffee phenolics and milk proteins could account as the main aspect.The role of milk fat globules and milk fat globule membrane may also be crucial.

Opportunities and challenges for the nanodelivery of green tea catechins in functional foods.

Green tea, the least processed tea product, is scientifically known for its rich antioxidant content originating from polyphenols, especially catechins. The most potent green tea catechin is epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which is responsible for a wide range of health benefits including anticancer, antidiabetics, and anti-inflammatory properties. However, green tea catechins (GTCs) are very labile under both environmental and gastrointestinal conditions; their chemical stability and bioavailability primarily depend on the processing and formulation conditions. Nanocarriers can protect GTCs against such conditions, and consequently, can be applicable for designing nanodelivery systems suitable for GTCs. In this review, the latest findings about both opportunities and limitations for the nanodelivery of GTCs and their incorporation into various functional food products are discussed. The scientific findings so far confirm that nanodelivery of GTCs can be an efficient approach towards the enhancement of their health-promoting effects with a minimal dose, controlled and targeted release, lessening the dose-related toxicity, and the efficient incorporation into functional foods. However, further investigation is yet needed to fully explain the cellular mechanisms of action of GTCs on human health and to elucidate the effect of encapsulation on their bioefficacy using well-designed, systematic, long-term, and large-scale clinical interventions. There also exists a substantial concern regarding the safety of the manufactured nanoparticles, their absorption, and the associated release mechanisms.