Abstract
Plants constitute a rich source of diverse classes of valuable phytochemicals (e.g., phenolic acids, flavonoids, carotenoids, alkaloids) with proven biological activity (e.g., antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, etc.). However, factors such as low stability, poor solubility and bioavailability limit their food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical applications. In this regard, a wide range of delivery systems have been developed to increase the stability of plant-derived bioactive compounds upon processing, storage or under gastrointestinal digestion conditions, to enhance their solubility, to mask undesirable flavors as well as to efficiently deliver them to the target tissues where they can exert their biological activity and promote human health. In the present review, the latest advances regarding the design of innovative delivery systems for pure plant bioactive compounds, extracts or essential oils, in order to overcome the above-mentioned challenges, are presented. Moreover, a broad spectrum of applications along with future trends are critically discussed.
Highlights
Plants produce a wide range of phytochemicals such as phenolic compounds, terpenes as well as nitrogen(e.g., alkaloids) and sulfur-containing compounds (Figure 1)
There has been increasing interest, during the last decades, in the development of effective delivery systems for plant-derived bioactive ingredients prior to their incorporation into various products in order to overcome some potential challenges related to stability, solubility and bioavailability issues
Synthetic and natural, simple and complex and nano- and micro-sized materials have been widely investigated as potential carriers for a broad range of plant ingredients with different physicochemical, biological and functional properties
Summary
Plants produce a wide range of phytochemicals such as phenolic compounds (e.g., phenolic acids, flavonoids, stilbenes, tannins), terpenes (e.g., carotenoids) as well as nitrogen(e.g., alkaloids) and sulfur-containing compounds (Figure 1). Various biological actions, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, anti-atherosclerotic, antimicrobial, etc., have been assigned to plant-derived compounds The latter ones, in the form of either isolated molecules, extracts or essential oils, find numerous applications in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries as natural colorants, flavoring agents, antioxidants, antimicrobials, nutraceuticals, etc. I.e., organic (such as lipids (e.g., fatty acids, phospholipids), proteins (e.g., caseins, whey proteins, gelatin), carbohydrates (e.g., starch, cellulose, chitosan, pectin)), inorganic (e.g., silver, gold, mesoporous silica) and others (e.g., inactive viruses), have been used during the last decades in order to develop a wide range of delivery systems (e.g., nano- and microparticles, liposomes, hydrogels, nanoemulsions, nanofibers, etc.) employing a variety of encapsulation techniques (e.g., coacervation, electrospinning, emulsification, etc.) (Figure 2) [4,5,6,7]. A broad spectrum of food, cosmetic and medicinal applications, along with future trends, are critically discussed
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