18 - Functional food ingredients and nutraceuticals, milk proteins as nutraceuticals nanoScience and food industry

Abstract

In today’s world, food materials contribute to the healthy life of consumers. Bioactive compounds exist naturally in certain foods and are nutritionally important, have physiological benefits, and might help to reduce the risk of many diseases, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. Nanotechnology can be applied by two different approaches: one is the top-down approach, whereby small particles are produced through different size reduction (mechanical) processes, and the other approach is the bottom-up approach in which the nanoparticle is produced by the self-assembly of smaller molecules such as lipids and proteins (chemical processes). Nanotechnology can be applied in the production, processing, safety, and packaging of food and contribute to improve the properties of bioactive compounds, such as solubility, delivery properties, prolonged residence time in the gastrointestinal tract, and efficient absorption through cells by reducing particle size. Application of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, beta carotene, probiotics, prebiotics, vitamins, and minerals as bioactive compounds are used in food nanotechnology. Milk proteins have been used in the production of the nanocarrier. This section will describe functional food ingredients and milk proteins as nutraceuticals, and their usage in nanotechnologic applications.