Ferritin, a novel vehicle for iron supplementation and food nutritional factors encapsulation

Abstract

Ferritin, a class of multimeric iron storage and detoxification protein, is characterized by the spherical architecture and the internal thousands of irons. In food nutrition, ferritin can be potentially explored as a safe and efficient functional reagent for iron supplement. Meanwhile, the nano-scale protein cage provides an ideal space for subtle encapsulation of food natural bioactive compounds, but without external disturbance. This review mainly focuses on, (i) the structure and function of the ferritins in vertebrates, plants, and bacteria, (ii) ferritin function in iron deposition and release, (iii) the utilization of ferritin in iron supplementation and the challenge of ferritin as an iron supplement, and (iv) the application of ferritin in the encapsulation of bioactive compounds. Moreover, the future outlook of ferritin involved in iron supplementation and food nutritional factor encapsulation is also elucidated.