Methods for obtaining liposomal systems to be used in the food industry

Abstract

Currently encapsulation of food ingredients using liposomal systems formed by natural phospholipids is of greatest interest for food industry. One of the advantages of encapsulation using liposomal systems is the amphiphilicity of the phospholipids that form them, which allows both hydrophilic and hydrophobic ingredients to be encapsulated, while most other encapsulating agents can only encapsulate hydrophilic ingredients. The article reviews the existing methods for obtaining liposomal systems. It has been shown that the most common classical method for obtaining liposomes, namely, the method of a thin film hydration does not allow obtaining liposomal dispersions that are uniform in shape and size. Moreover, this method requires a large consumption of organic solvents. Physical methods have been considered that make it possible to obtain uniform in shape and size liposome dispersions, in particular, ultrasonic treatment, extrusion under pressure, and microfluidization. The advantages and disadvantages of these methods have been presented. Alternative methods of obtaining liposomal systems without the use of toxic organic solvents and detergents have been considered. It should be noted that development of methods for producing liposomal systems that could be implemented on an industrial scale for the intensive introduction of these systems in food technology is now becoming increasingly important.