Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088

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Nanoencapsulation of food bioactive constituents and its associated

processes: A revisit
Chinaza Godswill Awuchi a, b, *, Sonia Morya c, Terwase Abraham Dendegh d,
Charles Odilichukwu R. Okpala e, **, Małgorzata Korzeniowska e
a
Department of Biochemistry, Kampala International University, Bushenyi, Uganda
b
School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Kampala International University, Kampala, Uganda
c
Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar - Delhi, Grand Trunk Rd, Phagwara, Punjab 144001, India
d
Department of Food Science and Technology, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria
e
Department of Functional Food Products Development, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Nanoencapsulation/nanocarrier systems like nanoemulsions, nanoliposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, bio­
Colorants polymeric nanocarriers, nature-inspired nanocapsules, have been shown with the capacity to encapsulate food
Flavors constituents. To understand the current status of nanoencapsulation of food, the authors examined recently
Food bioactive compounds
published reviews and deemed further synthesis regards the aspects applied to (food) bioactive constituents
Nanotechnology application
Polyphenolics
needful. In this paper, the nanoencapsulation of food bioactive constituents and its associated processes was
revisited. How nanoencapsulation delivers and same time protects the bioactivity of nutrients, nutraceuticals,
and other food constituents is discussed. The major bioavailability methods employed to nanoencapsulate nu­
trients, nutraceuticals, and other food components, which include emulsification, coacervation and supercritical
fluid; inclusion complexation, emulsification solvent evaporation, and nanoprecipitation; electrospraying and
electrospinning, are tersely summarized. Diverse methodologies employed during the nanoencapsulation of food
constituents has enabled the delivery and protection of nutrients, nutraceuticals and other bioactive ingredients.

1. Introduction antioxidants, polyphenols, etc. (Nallamuthu et al., 2017). Nano­

Nano-based “active” and “smart” food packaging offer improved
packaging materials with enhanced mechanical strengths, antimicrobial
film to nano sensing for detecting pathogens, barrier characteristics, and
can inform consumers about the status of food safety (Zehra et al.,
2021). In particular, the nanoencapsulation process encapsulates sub­
stances with several coating materials at atomic, molecular, and su­
pramolecular scale, usually 1 to 100 nm, although some nanomaterials
may have sizes up to 600 nm (Pateiro et al., 2021). Nanoencapsulation
of food components make use of different nanotechnologies, which
enable the delivery of the nutrients, nutraceuticals, and other bioactive
ingredients into the body cells, as well as stay protected from the rigors
of food processing and damaging environmental factors. Nano­
encapsulated food components include vitamins, essential fatty acids,
flavors, minerals, antimicrobial agents, natural food colorants,
encapsulated food components can be placed in suitable nanocarriers to
achieve a controlled and targeted release (Kumar and Smita, 2017;
Awuchi et al., 2022). In the recent decades, the food and agricultural
industries have employed nanotechnology in diverse forms like
improving food texture, flavor, taste, and consistency via nanostructures
in stable emulsions, as well as nanotexturing (Smolkova et al., 2015).
Besides its increasingly great interest, the extremely small size, pene­
trating capacity, and unique surface-volume ratio of nanoparticles (NPs)
makes it more beneficial, compared to the micro and macro particles
(Kumar et al., 2015). Nanotechnology applications in food science are
well-known to increasingly associate with worthy benefits, like in
nutraceuticals, food microbiology, nutrient delivery, etc.
Nanocarriers including inorganic nanocarriers (e.g., metallic nano­
structures such as quantum dots) and organic nanocarriers (e.g., poly­
mer nanoparticles and lipid-derived nanoparticles such as liposome,

* Corresponding author at: Department of Biochemistry, Kampala International University, Bushenyi, Uganda.
** Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: awuchichinaza@gmail.com (C.G. Awuchi), charlesokpala@gmail.com (C.O.R. Okpala), malgorzata.korzeniowska@upwr.edu.pl
(M. Korzeniowska).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biteb.2022.101088
Received 23 March 2022; Received in revised form 15 May 2022; Accepted 16 May 2022
Available online 19 May 2022
2589-014X/© 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
C.G. Awuchi et al.
Fig. 1. Schematic representation of (A) multicore vs single core walls (B) Nanosphere vs nanocapsule.
nanoemulsions, carbon-based nanocarrier, dendrimers, hydrogels, etc.)
have been widely used in foods and nutraceuticals. Nanostructured in­
gredients are formulated for improved taste, consistency, texture, longer
shelf-life, bioavailability of nutrients, etc. NPs display improved
encapsulation and release efficiencies other than the conventional
encapsulation system (Pateiro et al., 2021). In the delivery system of
NPs, the compounds are encapsulated in nanocarriers and delivered to
either improve their bioactivities in the body by either targeted delivery
or to improve their absorption/penetration through the gastrointestinal
(GI) tract. In the food industries, nanomaterials serve as candidates for
formulations, supplements, enzymes, flavoring, novel food contact ma­
terials, ingredients, additives, etc. Indeed, some food products with
added caramel, such as bread, corn flakes, etc., may contain carbon
nanoparticles (Smolkova et al., 2015; Peters et al., 2014). Fig. 1 shows
the components of single and multiple core walls, nanospheres, and
nanocapsules in nanoencapsulation, which are vital for the encapsula­
tion of food ingredients. This shows that the nanoencapsulation of
bioactive compounds has a vital role in withstanding adverse conditions,
which makes them readily assimilated in foods as well as the body.
Several natural and synthetic substances applied in nanoencapsulation
delivery systems are available and improved for better bioavailability
and preservation of active food constituents (Arshad et al., 2021).
Polyphenols, flavonoids and its glycosides, vitamin C, fatty acids, ca­
rotenoids, etc., are good sources of antioxidants, which makes their
nano-formulations useful to deter several pathogenic microbial entities
(Dhavamani et al., 2014).
To understand the current status of nanoencapsulation of foods, the
2
Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088
authors examined recently published literature reviews, as shown in
Table 1. Different nano-encapsulation techniques, wall material, appli­
cations, merits as well as variation (Tahir et al., 2021), recent researches
and developments associated with the utilization of electrospinning for
nanoencapsulation of food bioactive agents (Rostamabadi et al., 2020),
the micro/nano encapsulated V-EOs in the fortification of various food
products (Delshadi et al., 2020), and nanoencapsulation systems appli­
cable to food ingredients, and how nanocarriers apply to different food
bioactive components (Assadpour and Jafari, 2019a) can be seen in
Table 1. Other reviews covered nanoencapsulation delivery systems for
hydrophobic compounds (Rezaei et al., 2019), key future benefits/
prospects for the nanoencapsulation of bioactive compounds (Bazana
et al., 2019), as well as recent advances in extraction routes, quality
control measures and encapsulation techniques of saffron bioactive
compounds (Garavand et al., 2019). Also among the areas captured
include pectin's ability as carrier in nano-encapsulation techniques
(Rehman et al., 2019), spray-drying process with recent encapsulation
trends (Assadpour and Jafari, 2019b), solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs)
and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) (Katouzian et al., 2017),
bioavailability of minerals, to nanoencapsulation of minerals (Ghar­
ibzahedi and Jafari, 2017a, 2017b), electrospinning (Wen et al., 2017),
nanoencapsulation of lipophilic and hydrophilic vitamins, safety issues
and health risks (Katouzian and Jafari, 2016) and various nano­
encapsulation techniques (Ezhilarasi et al., 2013). Despite the con­
ducted reviews regarding the food nanoencapsulation, there is the need
for reviews that throw more light on (food) bioactive components,
which can contribute in providing a stepping stone for further
C.G. Awuchi et al. Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088

Table 1
Key reviews conducted within the past 10 years involving nanoencapsulation of foods, based on their specific objective, and key sections of review.
Refs. Specific objective Key sections of review

Tahir et al. (2021) This review discussed different nano-encapsulation techniques, wall
material, merits, as well as variation, and analyzed advanced emerging
methodology and trends in field of food sciences.
Rostamabadi et al. The review focused on recent researches and developments associated with
(2020) the utilization of electrospinning for nanoencapsulation of food bioactive
agents
Delshadi et al. (2020) This review critically discusses the role of micro/nano encapsulated V-EOs in
the fortification of various food products.
Assadpour and Jafari A brief overview of nanoencapsulation systems applicable to food
(2019a) ingredients, and how nanocarriers apply to different food bioactive
components
Rezaei et al. (2019) To discuss several nanoencapsulation delivery systems for hydrophobic
compounds, such as inclusion complexes through cyclodextrins, amylose,
and yeast cells, nanogels, nanoemulsions, nanofibers, nanosponges,
nanoliposomes, and nanoparticles made with lipids and biopolymers
Bazana et al. (2019) This review addressed key benefits of, challenges for, regulatory aspects of,
and future prospects for the nanoencapsulation of bioactive compounds, and
examined different aspects of toxicity/ safety of nanocarriers.
Garavand et al. (2019) This review comprehensively discussed recent advances in extraction routes,
quality control measures and encapsulation techniques of saffron bioactive
compounds
Rehman et al. (2019) This review summarized pectin's ability as carrier in nano-encapsulation
techniques, with a focus on its applications to encapsulate several bioactive
compounds.
Assadpour and Jafari This review described the spray-drying process with recent encapsulation
(2019b) trends involving fish oils, essential fatty acids, probiotics, phenolic
compounds, and natural food colorants.
Katouzian et al. (2017) This review highlights the pros and cons of using Solid lipid nanoparticles
(SLNs) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) in the food industry,
production methods commonly applied and formulation,as involving food
science and technology
Gharibzahedi and This review looked at food sources, biological functions, absorption
Jafari (2017a, mechanisms, bioavailability assessment methods and some enrichment
2017b) solutions of minerals, adding the effect of various processing/ storage
technologies on mineral content of some key food products.
Wen et al. (2017) This review looked at studies of electrospinning of food-grade polymers with
or without biopolymer for the purpose of encapsulation bioactive
compounds
Katouzian and Jafari This review highlights advances/techniques in nanoencapsulation of
(2016) lipophilic and hydrophilic vitamins, safety issues and health risks
Ezhilarasi et al. (2013) This review focuses on the various nanoencapsulation techniques such as
emulsification, coacervation, inclusion, complexation nanoprecipitation,
emulsification–solvent evaporation, and supercritical fluid for food
ingredients.
Nano-encapsulation, Nano-encapsulation wall material, Production
techniques, Applications in food sector
Overview of electrospinning; set-up and mechanism, Electrospun micro/
nano-fibers as food bioactive delivery systems, Challenges and prospects
Application and principles of encapsulation techniques, Application of
micro/nano-encapsulated vegetable-essential oils (V-EOs) in food
products,
Brief overview of appropriate nanocarriers for food ingredients;
Nanoencapsulation of different food ingredients, involving phenolic
compounds/ antioxidants, fish oil and essential fatty acids, vitamins, food
antimicrobial agents and essential oils, natural food colorants, food flavors,
minerals,
Hydrophobic food bioactive compounds, Different nanocarriers for
hydrophobic food bioactive compounds, Safety and toxicity aspects of
nanocarriers loaded with hydrophobic ingredients
Benefits of nanoencapsulation for food science and technology,
Nanotechnological challenges, Nanomaterials and consumers, Regulatory
aspects and future perspectives,
Bioactive compounds of saffron, Extraction methods of saffron bioactives,
Quality attributes of saffron, Green analytical chemistry (GAC) and saffron
extraction, Protection of saffron bioactives by microencapsulation
techniques, Nanoencapsulation of saffron bioactives
Sources and characterization of pectin, Nano-encapsulation techniques,
Bioactive compounds release from pectin-based nanocarriers during in
vitro/in vivo gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) studies
Elements and parameters of the spray-drying process for encapsulating
food ingredients, Spray-drying encapsulation of different food bioactive
ingredients, nano-spray drying as an emerging process for
nanoencapsulation of food bioactives
Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), Nano-structured lipid carriers (NLCs),
Formulation of SLNs and NLCs, Production techniques for SLNs and NLCs,
Bioavailability and potential toxicity of SLNs/NLCs,
Bioavailability of minerals, Mineral biofortification, Fortification of
processed foods by direct addition of minerals, Nanoencapsulation of
minerals
Electrospinning, Encapsulation of bioactive compounds by electrospinning
involving bioactive small molecules and potential applications, and
biological macromolecules/potential applications
Pros and cons of applying nanotechnology in the food industry,
Microencapsulation vs. nanoencapsulation of vitamins, Conventional
microencapsulation techniques of vitamins, Nanoencapsulation
technologies applied on different vitamins, Characterization methods for
nanoencapsulated vitamins, Controlled release of vitamins through
nanoencapsulation, Safety regulations and risks of nanoencapsulated
vitamins
Nanoencapsulation, Nanoencapsulation Techniques, Drying Techniques
for Producing Nanoparticles, Characterization of Nanoparticles, and
Problems and Safety Issues on Nanoencapsulation

researches. This current work aimed at revisiting the nanoencapsulation
of food bioactive constituents and its associated processes. To actualise
this work, the subsequent sections will tackle the following: a) Suitable
nanocarriers to protect food bioactive constituents; b) Nano­
encapsulation of food bioactive consituents; c) From understanding the
bioavailability principle to major nanoencapsulation methods associ­
ated with food constituents.
2. Suitable nanocarriers to protect food bioactive constituents
2.1. Carbohydrate nanoencapsulation
Carbohydrates remain a fundamental nutritional building block
given their several essential roles in the human metabolic system (Fathi
et al., 2014). For example, monosaccharides provide energy for the
body, while polysaccharides store the energy and act as structural
components. Nanoencapsulation using the carbohydrate-based delivery
system for food ingredients have shown promising applications.
Carbohydrate-based nano delivery systems formulated with starch,
pectin, cellulose, dextrin, alginate, cyclodextrin, guar gum, chitosan,
etc., have been applied in food systems (Fathi et al., 2014; Pateiro et al.,
2021). Their thermal stability properties make them suitable carriers for
the protection of compounds that are thermolabile under high temper­
ature food processing, and thus presenting interesting unique alternative
to protein- or lipid-based materials (Fathi et al., 2014). The
polysaccharide-based delivery systems can be classified according to
their source as plant (such as starch, pectin, guar gum, cellulose,
hemicellulose), animal (such as chitosan), microbial (such as xanthan

3
C.G. Awuchi et al.
gum, dextran), and algal (such as carrageenan, alginate) sources (De
Souza Simões et al., 2017).
As a complex structural acidic heteropolysaccharide, pectin situates
commonly within the primary and middle lamella/ cell walls of plants. It
has galacturonic acid as its major constituent - a sugar acid derivative of
galactose, with its major chain - homogalacturonan, linear chains of
α-(1–4)-linked D-galacturonic acid, which include acetylated and/or
esterified with methyl groups (Gómez et al., 2013). Pectin is used in the
food and nutraceutical industries to confer a good gel structure and a
good flavor release. Pectin can serve as a carrier in several nano­
encapsulation techniques, including nanoliposomes, nanoemulsion,
nanohydrogel, and nanocomplex, with applications for encapsulating
natural bioactive and functional substances (Rehman et al., 2019)-
hence, is a promising nanocarrier for nanoencapsulating bioactive in­
gredients, e.g., D-limonene, saffron, and vitamins, which would allow
their controlled release in human body (Rehman et al., 2019). Addi­
tionally, the use of pectin in complex with lipids and proteins enhances
its stability and rate of controlled release. Pectin- or polygalacturonic
acid-coated nanoliposomes can be used to encapsulate nisin and lyso­
zyme, effectively controlling bacterial pathogens in foods, e.g., Ultra-
High Temperature (UHT) milk (Lopes et al., 2019). The nanoemulsion
of phenolic compounds in olive leaf with a pectin–whey protein
concentrate complexes were reported by Mohammadi et al. (2016).
These workers demonstrated a slow controlled release (8.1%) and a high
stability (96.64%) of the nanoencapsulated compounds by entire inner
droplets transport. Nanoencapsulation technique around particles of oil
were found with significant effect on the inner components' release such
that double layers with more aggregations and elasticity than single-
layers. Besides, other workers showed that pectin from citrus peel
with bovine serum albumin (BSA), would produce a positive influence in
forming a nanohydrogel with ascorbic acid (vitamin C) (Peng et al.,
2016). Consequently, it is possible to obtain a stable food with encap­
sulation efficiency (EE) of 65.31%, as well as with improved retention of
vitamin C (73.95%), being released in two different stages (sustained
release and burst release) (Mohammadi et al., 2016).
As a linear polysaccharide with random distribution of β-(1–4)-
linked N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (acetylated unit) and D-glucosamine
(deacetylated unit), chitosan is produced by treating chitin shells of the
crustaceans, such as shrimp, using alkaline substance, e.g., sodium hy­
droxide. Chitosan-based walls have many advantages for synthesis of
nanocapsules, including using safe organic solvents, controlled release,
and easy use compared to other polymeric materials. Particularly, the
ones made from the partial or total deacetylation of chitin is generally
recognized as safe (GRAS), and is currently gaining much attentions
mainly due to its applications in the nanoencapsulation of nutraceuticals
and bioactive ingredients (Akbari-Alavijeh et al., 2020); and also
because of its stability, biodegradability, biocompatibility, non-toxicity,
ability to form particles and films, and antimicrobial properties (Lin
et al., 2019). Chitosan along with sodium alginate would efficiently
nanoencapsulate bioactive materials obtained from Egyptian prickly
pears for use in guava juices. It was found to enhance the antioxidant
properties of the bioactive compounds, and improve their stability and
quality. Chitosan-based and chitosan–sodium alginate-based nano­
particles found promising results. In addition, chitosan would effectively
nanoencapsulate with γ-poly glutamic acid and enhance the antimi­
crobial properties of the Rosmarinus officinalis L. (rosemary) extracts,
which were known to have poor solubility (Lee et al., 2019). As oligo­
saccharides with a macrocyclic ring of subunits of glucose bonded by
α-1,4 glycosidic bonds, cyclodextrins and its derivatives are used as
additives in food for several reasons, such as lipophilic compounds
protection, ability to improve vitamins and food colorings solubility,
stabilize food components (e.g., essential oils, flavors, etc.), masking
undesirable flavors (Pateiro et al., 2021). However, nanoencapsulation
was unable to mask the unpleasant pungent flavors (Ghorbanzade et al.,
2017a, 2017b). Lutein nanoencapsulation with hydroxypropyl methyl
cellulose phthalate protects it and improve its application in the foods
4
Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088
(Jin et al., 2009).
2.2. Protein nanoencapsulation
As a polymer that comprises amino acids, proteins bonded by their
peptides with such structure that avails them for several biological
processes (Zimet et al., 2011), forming several matrices in humans,
animals, cereals, vegetables, fungi, legumes, etc. Well known dietary
sources of proteins include egg (lysozyme), s kidney bean (phaseola­
min), maize (zein), meat, milk (casein, iimmunoglobulin G, lactoferrin),
eeds of cow cockle (cyclopeptides), etc. Due to their hydrophobic
binding ability, biopolymers interaction, emulsions stabilization, gel
formation, delaying oxidation, etc., proteins help target the delivery and
nanoencapsulation of bioactive substances (Zimet et al., 2011). A gluten
protein called gliadin is found in wheat, is poised as very suitable
biopolymer for oral and topical drug delivery. Able to prepare
mucoadhesive formulations, the gliadin can stick to mucus membrane.
Milk proteins are also candidate vehicles for drug and nutrients delivery
(Durga, 2012; Awuchi et al., 2022). Another key carrier of macromol­
ecule is albumin, which is obtained from many sources such as bovine
serum albumin (BSA), human serum albumin (HSA), and ovalbumin
(Awuchi et al., 2022). Albumin is water soluble and is used to maintain
nutrient binding, osmotic pressure, and nutrient transport to body cells
(Patel et al., 2014). Albumin is applied in formulating nanospheres and
nanocapsules. Albumin nanocarriers are prepared easily, non­
immunogenic, well defined in sizes, nontoxic, biodegradable, and has
some reactive groups (e.g. amines, thiol, carboxyl). The group can serve
as ligand binding units or as surface modifiers. Benefit of ligand binding
albumin is based on the fact that it can attach easily by covalent linking
(Lomis et al., 2016). The entrapped nutrients in albumin NPs are easily
digested by proteases. Additionally, there are two well-known kinds of
elastin-derived peptides used for nutrient and drug delivery include α–o
elastin and elastin-like polypeptides. Emulsion of soy protein can sta­
bilize pickering and also be used in formulating nutraceuticals.
3. Nanoencapsulation of food bioactive consituents
3.1. Nanoencapsulation of vitamins
Vitamins are organic molecules that are essential micronutrients
required by organisms in small amounts for proper metabolisms. There
are currently thirteen recognized vitamins that have proven roles in
body physiology and are classified as either fat soluble or water soluble
(Sebrell and Harris, 2014; Eitenmiller et al., 2016): hydrophilic (water
soluble) vitamins include vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and the B vitamins
that include vitamin B1 (thiamin), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3
(niacin or nicotinic acid), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), vitamin B6
(pyridoxine), vitamin B7 (biotin), vitamin B9 (folate or folic acid) and
vitamin B12 (cobalamins); lipophilic (fat soluble) vitamins include
vitamin A (retinol, retinal, beta carotene and other provitamin A ca­
rotenoids), vitamin D (calciferols), vitamin E (tocopherols, tocotrienols),
and vitamin K (phylloquinone, menaquinones). Some sources include
choline in the list of vitamins and make them fourteen. Nano­
encapsulation of vitamins can help protect them and ensure their sta­
bility. Water-soluble vitamins usually leach into the water during food
processing such as soaking, washing, cooking, blanching, etc. (Katou­
zian and Jafari, 2016). Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is oxidized rapidly
during cooking and some other food processing. Vitamin B1 is suscep­
tible to high temperature in neutral and alkaline food networks and is
labile in the air. Vitamin B2 is degraded by exposure to light, whereas
vitamins B3 and B6 are resistant under storage and processing condi­
tions. Vitamin A and vitamin E can be easily oxidized by heat, metal
ions, light, etc. Vitamin K structure is drastically modified by visible
light and fluorescent. On the other hand, vitamin D is not significantly
affected by the processing and storage conditions (Kumar and Smita,
2017). To protect vitamins and overcome these unwanted effects in
 Table 2

C.G. Awuchi et al.

Vitamins, foods commonly found, and their nanoencapsulation, adding deficiency diseases, recommended allowances, and overdose symptoms.
Vitamin Vitamers Foods commonly found Solubility Nanoencapsulation Deficiency diseases Recommended Overdose syndrome/ References
dietary allowances symptoms
for those 19–70
(female/ male)

Vitamin all-trans-Retinol, Plant origin (as provitamin A and
A provitamin A Carotenoids all-trans-beta-carotene): leafy
(such as all-trans-beta- vegetables, carrots, ripe yellow
carotene), Retinals fruits, orange, pumpkin, spinach,
squash. Animal origin (as
Vitamin A and all-trans-Retinol):
Fish, milk and dairy products,
liver.
Vitamin Thiamine Pork, liver, potatoes, brown rice,
B1 whole meal grains, eggs,
vegetables
Vitamin Riboflavin Milk and dairy products,
B2 asparagus, green beans, bananas
5
Fat Vitamin A was nanoencapsulated in a Night blindness, 700 μg/900 μg Hypervitaminosis A (National
study. The vitamin A palmitate keratomalacia, Institute of
encapsulation efficiency was reduced hyperkeratosis, etc. Health, 2013;
when the cholesterol levels were high, Pezeshky et al.,
whereas by implementing mixture of 2016)
lecithin-cholesterol at ratio of 50/10 mg,
the encapsulation efficiency increased to
15.8% and the NPs size was about 76 nm.
Water Nanoencapsulation of vitamin B1 using Beriberi, Wernicke- 1.1 mg/1.2 mg Muscle relaxation, (Fathima et al.,
nanoliposomes formulated using Korsakoff syndrome Drowsiness, 2016)
phosphatidylcholine has been reported.
Such nanoencapsulated vitamin B1 can be
stored for at least 90 days at different
temperature ranges. The encapsulation
efficiency of the vitamin B1 was 97% with
around 150 nm size of nanocarriers
Water Vitamin B2 has been incorporated into Angular stomatitis, 1.1 mg/1.3 mg Very rare, but can cause (Couto et al.,
sLNPs formulated from completely Ariboflavinosis, glossitis, liver damage 2016)
hydrogenated canola oil. The optimum etc.
circumstances included 2% vitamin
concentration, 15 MPa pressure, and 5%
polyethylene glycol that has 35,000 Da
molecular weight; the study reported that
high levels of compounds soluble in water

can be embedded into the networks of

sLNP
Vitamin Niacinamide, Niacin, Meat, eggs, fish, mushrooms, Water Vitamin B3 has been nanoencapsulated in Pellagra 14 mg/16 mg Liver damage at doses (Zehra et al.,
B3 Nicotinamide riboside several vegetables, tree nuts mesoporous nanomaterials to improve its greater than 2 g per day, 2021)
functions, protection, delivery, etc. etc.
Vitamin Pantothenic acid Meat, avocados, broccoli, etc. Water Nanotechnology can be used to improve Paresthesia 5 mg for both male Diarrhea, heartburn, (Arshad et al.,
B5 the protection and bioavailability of and female nausea, etc. 2021)
micronutrients such as vitamin B5
Vitamin Pyridoxine, Pyridoxal, Meat, bananas, tree nuts, Water Supramolecular encapsulation of Vitamin Anemia, Peripheral 1.2 to 1.5 mg/1.3 to Proprioception (National
B6 Pyridoxamine vegetables, etc. B6 that employed macrocyclic neuropathy 1.7 mg impairment, nerve Institute of
nanocontainer cucurbituril in aqueous damage usually at doses Health, 2011a;
solution. Vitamin B6 nanocapsules formed greater than 100 mg per Li et al., 2015)
stable host-quest complexes day
Vitamin Biotin Raw egg yolk, liver, peanuts, Water Nanotechnology is used to enhance the Dermatitis, enteritis, etc. AI: 30 μg/30 μg (Jafarizadeh-

Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088

B7 leafy green vegetables protection and bioavailability of nutrients Malmiri et al.,
such as vitamin B7 2019)
Vitamin Folic acid, Folates Leafy vegetables, cereal, liver, Water Folic acid was encapsulated in 150 nm Megaloblastic anemia. 400 μg for both Can mask vitamin B12 (Penalva et al.,
B9 pasta, bread casein NPs with 25 μg/mg folic acid in the Deficiency in pregnant male and female deficiency symptom, etc. 2015)
yield. Folic acid, in vitro, showed women can cause birth
resistance against the gastrointestinal defects, including neural
conditions but was released in the tube defects, etc.
intestine
(continued on next page)
 Table 2 (continued )

C.G. Awuchi et al.

Vitamin Vitamers Foods commonly found Solubility Nanoencapsulation Deficiency diseases Recommended Overdose syndrome/ References
dietary allowances symptoms
for those 19–70
(female/ male)

Vitamin Cobalamin, Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk Water A study incorporated cobalamins into 200 Anemia known as 2.4 μg for both male Information not (National
B12 Cyanocobalamin, and dairy products nm solid lipid nanoparticles (sLNPs) and vitamin B12 deficiency and female available Institute of
Methylcobalamin, studied the cytotoxic properties of anemia Health, 2011b;
Hydroxocobalamin, vitamins entrapped on two cell lines Genç et al.,
Adenosylcobalamin (control), and reported improved 2015)
anticarcinogenic activities of the
formulated sLNP system compared with
the free vitamins.
Vitamin Ascorbic acid Several fruits, liver, many Water In a study, researchers synthetized Scurvy 75 mg/90 mg Diarrhea, Stomach Pain, (Li et al., 2015)
C vegetables complex nanoliposomes that are loaded Flatulence, etc.
with medium chained fatty acids and
vitamin C using double emulsion
techniques and “double-emulsion-
dynamic high pressure microfluidization”.
They reported about 64% higher
encapsulation efficiency and stability at 4
◦
C for 90 days storage in comparison with
the conventional techniques.
Vitamin Cholecalciferol (vitamin Liver, eggs, some species of fish Fat A study formulated vitamin D- Rickets, osteomalacia 15 μg for both male Hypervitaminosis D (Almajwal et al.,
D D3), Ergocalciferol (e.g. sardines), some species of nanoemulsions (VDN) using sonication and female 2016)
(vitamin D2) mushroom, e.g. shiitake and modifying pH of materials such as pea
protein, and fed to a group of male albino
rats, while others were fed with control
emulsions. Treatment with vitamin D-
nanoemulsions showed remarkable
6

positive changes in the levels of

phosphorus, calcium, alkaline
phosphatase, and parathyroid hormone.
Vitamin Tocopherols, Tocotrienols Several fruits, nuts, seeds, Fat A study formulated nanoemulsions of Very rare, but mild 15 mg for both male Increase in congestive (Higdon, 2011;
E vegetables,seed oils vitamin E using spontaneous hemolytic anemia can and female heart failure incidence, Saberi et al.,
emulsification and reported smallest occur in newly born etc. 2013)
droplet diameter (d < 50 nm) and highest infants
transparency utilizing 20% ethanol and
30% propylene glycol, respectively.
Vitamin Phylloquinone, Leafy green vegetables e.g. Fat Vitamin K was nanoencapsulated in an Bleeding diathesis AI: 120 μg/110 μg Reduced warfarin (Dalmoro et al.,
K Menaquinones spinach; liver; egg yolks enhanced nanoliposomal carriers using a anticoagulation effect, 2019)
novel preparative nanotechnology etc.

Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088

C.G. Awuchi et al.
during food storage and processing, nanoencapsulation has shown
remarkable potentials in preserving vitamins, as well as their targeted
delivery to body tissues (Katouzian and Jafari, 2017).
Specific to the context of this current work, Table 2 further shows the
vitamins, foods commonly found, and their nanoencapsulation, adding
deficiency diseases, recommended allowances, and overdose symptoms.
Different nanoencapsulation strategies employed by the various studies
are enumerated in Table 2. For instance, the palmitate encapsulation
associated with Vitamin A (National Institute of Health, 2013; Pezeshky
et al., 2016), Nanoencapsulation of vitamin B1 using nanoliposomes
(Fathima et al., 2016), Vitamin B2 incorporated into solid lipid nano­
particles (sLNPs) (Couto et al., 2016), Vitamin B3 nanoencapsulated in
mesoporous nanomaterials (Zehra et al., 2021), as well as nanotech­
nology to protect bioavailability of vitamin B5 (Arshad et al., 2021).
Others include supramolecular encapsulation of Vitamin B6 (National
Institute of Health, 2011a; Li et al., 2015), nanotechnology to protect
bioavailability of vitamin B7 (Jafarizadeh-Malmiri et al., 2019), folic
acid encapsulated in casein NPs (Penalva et al., 2015), Vitamin B12
incorporated in the form of cobalamins into sLNPs (National Institute of
Health, 2011b; Genç et al., 2015), nanoliposomes loaded with medium
chained fatty acids/vitamin C (Li et al., 2015), as well as formulation of
vitamin D-nanoemulsions (VDN) using sonication and modifying pH
(Almajwal et al., 2016). Nanoemulsions of vitamin E using spontaneous
emulsification(Higdon, 2011; Saberi et al., 2013), and Vitamin K
nanoencapsulated in enhanced nanoliposomal carriers (Dalmoro et al.,
201) are also included in Table 2, as nanoencapsulation strategies.
Nanoliposomes loaded with vitamin A palmitate prepared using thin-
film-hydration sonication was investigated by Pezeshky et al. (2016).
These workers found the vitamin A palmitate encapsulation efficiency
was reduced when the cholesterol levels were high, whereas by imple­
menting mixture of lecithin-cholesterol at ratio of 50/10 mg, the
encapsulation efficiency increased to 15.8% and the NPs size was about
76 nm. Liu et al. (2016)synthetized ascorbic acid with multiple layered
nanoliposomes by depositing negative sodium alginate and positive
chitosan on anionic nanoliposomes surface, and used it in mandarin
juice. The coated nanoliposomes structure modified the nanoliposomes
surface characteristics and resulted in an increased vitamin C protection
and a decreased lipid peroxidation after 90 days storage; however, there
was no significant changes in the organoleptic properties of fortified
samples. Li et al. (2015) synthetized complex nanoliposomes that are
loaded with medium chained fatty acids and vitamin C using double-
emulsion-dynamic high pressure microfluidization. Fathima et al.
(2016) studied nanoencapsulation of vitamin B1 using nanoliposomes
formulated using phosphatidylcholine. Such nanoencapsulated vitamin
B1 can be stored for at least 90 days at different temperature ranges. The
encapsulation efficiency of the vitamin B1 was 97% with around 150 nm
size of nanocarriers.
By formulating nanoemulsions of vitamin E using spontaneous
emulsification, Saberi et al. (2013) obtained a reduced droplet diameter
(d < 50 nm) and highest transparency utilizing 20% ethanol and 30%
propylene glycol, respectively. The Ostwald ripening changed the
physical and chemical properties of the nanoemulsions at high tem­
peratures. Vitamin D3 was entrapped by Ozturk et al. (2014) in oil-in-
water nanoemulsions using a natural surfactant (quillaja saponin)
showed vitamin D3 bioavailability reduced in the order: medium chain
triglycerides < mineral oil < orange oil < fish oil < corn oil. Almajwal
et al. (2016)formulated vitamin D-nanoemulsions (VDN) using soni­
cation and modifying pH of materials such as pea protein, and fed to a
group of male albino rats, while others were fed with control emulsions.
Treatment with vitamin D-nanoemulsions showed remarkable positive
changes in the levels of phosphorus, calcium, alkaline phosphatase, and
parathyroid hormone. Nanoencapsulation inform of nanoemulsions can
be effectively formulated as delivery system for vitamin D fortification
of foods.
Nanoencapsulation has been shown to improve the behavior and
availability of vitamins. By incorporating cobalamins into 200 nm solid
7
Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088
lipid nanoparticles (sLNPs), Genç et al. (2015) was able to study the
cytotoxic properties of vitamins entrapped on two cell lines (control).
These workers observed the formulated sLNP system showed improved
anticarcinogenic activities compared with the free vitamins. Couto et al.
(2016) also showed vitamin B2 incorporated into sLNPs formulated
from completely hydrogenated canola oil. The optimum circumstances
included 2% vitamin concentration, 15 MPa pressure, and 5% poly­
ethylene glycol that has 35,000 Da molecular weight; the study reported
that high levels of compounds soluble in water can be embedded into the
networks of sLNP. Uraiwan and Satirapipathkul (2016) made use of
Rambutan seed fat extract to formulate nanostructured lipid carriers
(NLCs) along with vitamin E and Tween 20 as core material and emul­
sifier, respectively. These workers reported that 5% Tween 20 was the
optimum level that formed an NLC system of higher stability with 140
nm average particle diameter and about 0.165 polydispersity index.
Via self-assembly technique, Peng et al. (2016) showed that vitamin
C-loaded nanohydrogel could be formulated with bovine serum albumin
(BSA) and citrus peel pectin. The encapsulation efficiency of vitamin C
approximately 65.31% whereas the in vitro release mechanisms
involved diffusion, swelling and erosion. More importantly, the stability
of the prepared nanohyrdogel systems was 73.95% after storage during
10 weeks. Tsuchido et al. (2015) applied zinc ions in the formulating
strong nanogels of protein from BSA together with vitamin B6 (pyri­
doxine) with pullulan as bio-crosslinker. The albumin attachment was
significantly increased by the application of the zinc ions despite the
electrostatic repulsion of the two structures (Tsuchido et al., 2015).
Elsewhere, canola oil and soy protein isolate have been used as natural
nano delivery vehicles for vitamin D protection against destructive
conditions, e.g. UV rays, through the application of ultrasonication for 5
min; there was 73.5% encapsulation efficiency (Lee et al., 2016).
Nature-inspired nanocapsules are suitable nanocarriers for vitamins.
They have admirable encapsulation efficiency. Folic acid was encapsu­
lated in 150 nm casein NPs with 25 μg/mg folic acid in the yield
(Penalva et al., 2015). Folic acid, in vitro, would produce some resis­
tance against the gastrointestinal conditions and could be released in the
intestine (Penalva et al., 2015). The bioavailability in the lab animals fed
with NPs of casein was 50 to 52% higher in comparison with the con­
ventional solution. In a study, vitamin D3 was nanoencapsulated with
NPs of starch and incorporated into milk to improve calcium in­
teractions (Hasanvand et al., 2015). Nanocarriers would improve the
vitamin D3 bioavailability, as well as mask the undesirable aftertaste
(Hasanvand et al., 2015). Heydari et al. (2016) included riboflavin into
cationic ẞ-cyclodextrins (ẞ-CDs), carried out tests in vitro, and reported
the occurrence of initial burst release followed by a slow rate of release.
Another study formulated host-guest structure using molecule of ẞ-CD
to wrap vitamin D3 using the drying technique of saturated aqueous
vacuum (Liu and Zhang, 2016). The optimum ẞ-CD to vitamin D3 ratio
was 15:1 and the vitamin D3 uptake remarkably improved compared
with the original form. Elsewhere, vitamin A palmitate-loaded ẞ-cy­
clodextrins prepared by Vilanova and Solans (2015) without the use of
organic solvents was shown to improve vitamin A palmitate stability and
enrich the edible solutions. Nature-inspired nanocapsules have proven
effective in improving the stability, bioavailability, absorption, utiliza­
tion, and behaviors of vitamins.
Some special equipment has been used in nanoencapsulation of vi­
tamins. Specialized nanocarriers equipment was used by Pérez-Masiá
et al. (2015), when nano spray drying and electrospraying techniques
were employed to nanoencapsulate folate supplemented by resistant
starch and whey protein concentrate as walls. The network of the whey
protein improved the encapsulation efficiency because of its interaction
with folate (Pérez-Masiá et al., 2015). The two techniques generated
NPs, microparticles, and submicron particles, whereas electrospraying
additionally generated smaller capsules that have controllable distri­
bution of sizes. Agarwal et al. (2016) prepared nanofiber mats of cel­
lulose acetate loaded with Riboflavin, ZnO, and ascorbic acid
nanoparticles which showed controlled and slow release in comparison
 Table 3

C.G. Awuchi et al.

Minerals dietary sources, category description, biological functions and its excess, together with their nanoencapsulation.
Dietary mineral Dietary sources with Deficiency UL (mg) Categorical description Terminology for AI/RDA for Nanoencapsulation References
(element) high nutrient density terminology excess male/female
(mg)

Arsenic Fish, mushroom, Arsenic deficiency 0.01–0.5 Arsenic may be essential trace Arsenicosis, Arsenic NE In vitro and in vivo, (Baccarelli and
drinking water, element in animals. Some bacteria poisoning nanoencapsulation of arsenic Bollati, 2009; Ahn
species use arsenic compounds as trioxide improves efficiency against et al., 2013)
metabolites of respiration, with Murine lymphoma model whilst
help of arsenate reductases. reducing its effects on ovarian
Arsenic is also classified as a reserve
group-A carcinogen
Boron Milk, coffee, apples, Boron deficiency 20 Boron is believed to be essentially Boron toxicity/ NE, although Boron nitride quantum dots (Doaa and Alejandro,
beans, potatoes, required for body functions such as poisoning some sources (BNQDs) are used for molecular 2021)
fruits, fruit juices, maintaining cell wall integrity, recommend probing due to their unique
cheese, leafy green reducing urinary calcium 1–17 photoluminescent properties,
vegetables, grains, excretion, etc., although the although their application in
physiology roles are not well aqueous media is limited by their
understood yet. strong agricultural and
hydrophobic nature
Bromine Grains and grain Bromine deficiency 4000–7000 Bromine (bromide ion) has been Bromism, Bromine 2–8 Novel nanocapsules formulated (McCall et al., 2014)
flour, brominated suggested to be a to be a required toxicity/poisoning with tenfibgen have been tested and
vegetable oil (BVO), co-factor for collagen IV applied for the delivery of 2-dime­
nuts, seafood, sea biosynthesis. 2-octyl 4-bromo-3- thylamino-4,5,6,7-tetrabromo-1H-
salt, bread oxobutanoate may play a role in benzimidazole (DMAT)
REM sleep. May have antibacterial
and antiparasitic properties
Calcium Milk and dairy hypocalcaemia 2500 Builds bone. Required for healthy hypercalcaemia 1000 Crosslinking of alginate with Ca2+ (Drewnowski, 2010;
products, canned fish muscle, digestive system, and ions has been widely applied in Food and Nutrition
with bones (e.g. heart. Supports the function and nanoencapsulation of food systems Board, 2020)
8

sardines, salmon), synthesis of blood cells to improve the availability,

eggs, thyme, protection, delivery, etc. of various
oregano, nuts, seeds, food components
green leafy
vegetables,
cinnamon, tofu, dill
Chlorine Sodium chloride hypochloremia 3600 Necessary for hydrochloric acid hyperchloremia 2300 Novel nanocarrier can be (EFSA, 2006; Food
(commonly called production in the stomach. Also formulated using NPs of alginate for and Nutrition Board,
table salt) needed for the functions of cellular ZnCl2 and FeCl3 fortification of ice 2020)
pump cream
Chromium Broccoli, meat, whole Chromium NE Involves in the metabolism of lipid Chromium toxicity 0.25–0.035 A study nanoencapsulated (Gropper and Smith,
grain products, grape deficiency and glucose, however its action hexavalent chromium with 2012; Kim et al.,
juice mechanisms in human body and nanoscale zero-valent iron and 2014; US National
the required levels for optimum reported promising results Institutes of Health,

Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088

health have not been fully 2016; Huang et al.,
established 2018; Food and
Nutrition Board,
2020)
Cobalt Often considered part Cobalt deficiency NE Essential for vitamin B12 synthesis Cobalt poisoning NE Cobalt can be nanoencapsulated (EFSA, 2006; Luciana
of cobalamins with appropriate nanomaterials to et al., 2012; Food and
(vitamin B12), which improve its stability, absorption, Nutrition Board,
is obtained from availability, and delivery 2020)
consuming animals
and animal-based
foods
(continued on next page)
 Table 3 (continued )

C.G. Awuchi et al.

Dietary mineral Dietary sources with Deficiency UL (mg) Categorical description Terminology for AI/RDA for Nanoencapsulation References
(element) high nutrient density terminology excess male/female
(mg)

Copper Liver, nuts, seafood, Copper deficiency 5–10 Cytochrome c oxidase required co- Copper toxicity 0.9 Nanoparticles of copper have been (Schlenker and
oysters, seeds; some factor used to improve the availability, Gilbert, 2014; Food
whole grains digestibility, delivery, serum levels and Nutrition Board,
of copper 2020)
Fluorine Drinking water, Fluoride deficiency 2.2–10 Fluorine inhibits dental cavities, Fluoride toxicity 0.1–3 A study evaluated the effects of (Sampaio, 2017)
coffee, shrimp, strengthens bones. Topical fluoride fluoride dentifrice with
raisins, spinach, reduces dental caries. 20% of nanoencapsulated fluoride in
potatoes, grapes, modern pharmaceuticals contain fluoride retention in dental and
black tea fluorine saliva plaque and reported
improvement in dental carries
Iodine Seaweed (kombu or Iodine deficiency, 0.6–1.1 Required for thyroid hormones Iodism, 0.150 Potassium iodate and potassium (Jameson and De
kelp), iodized salt, goiter synthesis Hyperthyroidism iodide were nanoencapsulated in Groot, 2015; National
eggs, grains modified starches, purified sodium Institutes of Health,
chloride, sodium 2016a; Food and
hexametaphosphate, and gelatin to Nutrition Board,
produce iodized salt. 2020)
Iron Meat, seafood, dark Iron deficiency 45 Required for several proteins Iron overload disorder 8–18 In a study, the researchers prepared (Ding et al., 2011a;
chocolate, beans, (including enzymes), especially nanoliposomes that entrapped National Institutes of
nuts hemoglobin for preventing anemia ferrous glycinate formulated from Health, 2016b; Food
phosphatidylcholine of egg and and Nutrition Board,
reported a significant effect in 2020)
decreased deficiency of Fe in rats
compared to two free Fe.
Lithium Cereals, cabbage, Lithium deficiency 700–900 Lithium can be essential as an Lithium toxicity 70–600 Lithium can be used as a reagent for (Goldstein and
dairy products, antidepressant and a mood preparing organic nanomaterials Mascitelli, 2016)
grains, mustard, stabilizer for treating mental and and in formulations of nano
9

vegetables, kelp, fish, other disorders, e.g. bipolar pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals,

meat, potatoes, disorder, schizoaffective disorder, foods, etc.
tomatoes, some cyclic major depression, possible
mineral water, spices, treatment for cluster headache
Magnesium Spinach, nuts, seeds, Hypomagnesemia, 250–350 Required for ATP processing and hypermagnesemia 320–420 Magnesium can be (National Institutes of
whole grains, peanut deficiency of also for the processing of bones nanoencapsulated to improve its Health, 2016c; Food
butter, avocado, magnesium stability, absorption, availability, and Nutrition Board,
legumes protection, functionality, and 2020)
delivery
Manganese Grains, nuts, leafy manganese 11 A co-factor required for superoxide Manganism 1.8–2.3 Like most minerals, manganese can (Schlenker and
vegetables, seeds, deficiency dismutase be nanoencapsulated to improve its Gilbert, 2014; Food
legumes, coffee, tea stability, absorption, availability, and Nutrition Board,
protection, functionality, and 2020)
delivery

Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088

Molybdenum Legumes, nuts, whole Molybdenum 0.6–2 It is a requirement for the Molybdenum toxicity 0.045 Molybdenum can be (Schlenker and
grains deficiency functioning of sulfite oxidase, nanoencapsulated to improve its Gilbert, 2014; Food
aldehyde oxidase, and xanthine stability, absorption, availability, and Nutrition Board,
oxidase protection, functionality, and 2020)
delivery
Nickel Drinking water, black Nickel deficiency 1 Urease, a nickel enzyme, catalyzes Nickel poisoning NE Nanoparticles of nickel can be (Sydor and Zamble,
pea, seeds, nuts, the hydrolysis of urea to form formulated using suitable 2013)
soybeans, soymilk, carbamate and ammonia. Nickel is techniques for optimal functions,
chocolate, cocoa to certain plants and availability, delivery, protection,
powder, some grains, microorganism which have etc.
and some other plant enzymes with nickel as active site.
foods Nickel may be essential to
intestinal bacteria
(continued on next page)
 Table 3 (continued )

C.G. Awuchi et al.

Dietary mineral Dietary sources with Deficiency UL (mg) Categorical description Terminology for AI/RDA for Nanoencapsulation References
(element) high nutrient density terminology excess male/female
(mg)

Phosphorus Red meat, poultry, hypophosphatemia 4000 One of the essential nutrients that hyperphosphatemia 700 Fe-SLNPs that are bioavailable with (Linus Pauling
fish, oats, bread, are components of bones and cells. 25 nm NPs size and 92.3% Institute, 2014; Food
dairy foods, rice. Involves in processing of energy, in encapsulation efficiency were made and Nutrition Board,
Usually occurs as ATP and DNA (as phosphate) as by formulating optimal formulation 2020)
phosphate in well as in several other functions that has 0.2% dicetylphosphate, 3%
biological contexts, Poloxamer 188 surfactant, 1%
lecithin, and 3% Compritol 888
ATO
Potassium Sweet potato, beans, hypokalemia NE It is a systemic electrolyte essential hyperkalemia 4700 Potassium iodate and potassium (EFSA, 2006; Food
lentils, tomato, in the coregulation of ATP with iodide can be nanoencapsulated in and Nutrition Board,
carrot, orange, sodium modified starches, purified sodium 2020)
potato, seafood, dairy chloride, sodium
products, banana, hexametaphosphate, and gelatin to
prune produce iodized salt. Potassium can
be nanoencapsulated to improve its
stability, absorption, availability,
protection, functionality, and
delivery
Selenium Brazil nuts, meats, Selenium deficiency 0.3–0.4 Required for the activities of Selenosis 0.055 Nanoencapsulating maghemite (Luciana et al., 2012;
grains, seafoods, antioxidant enzymes such as nanoparticles and selol (mixture of National Institutes of
dairy products, organ glutathione peroxidase selenite triglycerides) have been Health, 2016d; Food
meats, eggs formulated and applied for and Nutrition Board,
therapeutic purposes. 2020)
Sodium Sodium chloride hyponatremia 2300 Sodium is a systemic electrolyte hypernatremia 1500 Sodium-alginate nanoparticles can (EFSA, 2006;
(commonly called essential for ATP coregulation with be applied as a wall for FeSO4 using Katuwavila et al.,
table salt), spinach, potassium controlled ionic gelation 2016; Food and
10

milk, sea vegetables techniques. In a study involving Nutrition Board,

such technique, the Fe (0.06% w/v)- 2020)
loaded alginate NPs of 15 to 30 nm
showed a prolonged in vitro kinetic
release for four days and the release
rate of Fe was largely relied on pH;
the release of Fe at pH of non-
Fickian diffusion (6.0 and 7.4) and
Fickian diffusion (2.0) were
65–70% and 20%, respectively
Strontium Seafood, whole milk Strontium deficiency 2000 Strontium has similar properties as Strontium poisoning/ 10–2000 Strontium can be nanoencapsulated (Emsley, 2011)
and dairy products, calcium. Strontium substitutes toxicity using suitable nanomaterials to
meat, wheat bran, calcium to a small in extent in improve its stability, absorption,
poultry, root biological systems. Most of the availability, and synergistic actions

Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088

vegetables, lettuce, absorbed strontium is deposited in with calcium, vitamin D, etc.
whole grains, leafy the bones, with strontium to
green vegetables, calcium ratio in human bones
spices, Brazil nut, being between 1:1000 and 1:2000
celery
Zinc Oysters, poultry, red Zinc deficiency 25–40 Required for many enzymes, Zinc toxicity 8–11 A study formulated WPI NPs and (EFSA, 2006;
meat, milk and dairy including carbonic anhydrase, used them for ZnCl2 encapsulation National Institutes of
products, nuts, whole liver alcohol dehydrogenase, under acidic pH. The formulated Health, 2016e; Food
grains matrix metalloproteinases, zinc delivery systems are efficiently used and Nutrition Board,
finger proteins, etc. to integrate minerals and some 2020)
unstable hydrophilic ingredients
into formulating acidic foods.
(continued on next page)
 C.G. Awuchi et al. Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088

with the films of cellulose acetate that showed burst release, and can be

AI = Adequate intake; RDA = Recommended Dietary Allowance; UL = Tolerable upper intake level; NE = Not established or not available at the time of this study; Figures in the table are for male and female (neither
(Zoroddu et al., 2019)
applied in oral delivery. Electrospinning can be used to formulate a dual
coating of bioactive made up of vitamin E and chitosan (Stoleru et al.,
2016). Elsewhere, nanofibers of gelatin loaded with vitamin E and
References

vitamin A palmitate would be applied as dressings for wound healing (Li

et al., 2016). A decrease in the fibers size could happen when adding the
vitamins to the nanocarriers. Nanofibers loaded with the individual
vitamin E or A could show an extended release for at least 60 h. (Li et al.,
2016).
efficiency, protection, availability,
Many of these minerals have been

3.2. Nanoencapsulation of mineral (inorganic) elements

formulations for improving
used in nanotechnological

Minerals in foodstuffs are well-known as essential bioactive com­

Nanoencapsulation

ponents /chemical (inorganic) elements required for metabolic func­

tions in humans, plants, and animals. Fruits and vegetables are the main
dietary sources of minerals (Gharibzahedi and Jafari, 2017b). Essential
minerals are generally classified into macro-minerals (macro-elements)
etc.

and micro-minerals (trace elements). Macro-elements include calcium

(Ca), sulfur (S), chloride (Cl), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sodium
Can range from

(Na), magnesium (Mg); while the trace elements include iodine (I), iron
depending on
microgram to

the elements
male/female
AI/RDA for

(Fe), boron (B), chromium (Cr), selenium (Se), fluoride (F), molybde­
milligram

num (Mo), cobalt (Co), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and manganese (Mn).
(mg)

There are several stability and solubility limitations of adding minerals

directly into foods. In addition, some minerals interact with several
Poisoning or toxicities

components in foods, which may lead to formation of unintended

complexes and/or reduce their availability, and can also reduce sensory
are mostly named
after the element
Terminology for

qualities by generating undesirable color, appearance, taste, or flavor

(Gharibzahedi and Jafari, 2017b). Some minerals are susceptible to
apple-like oxidative degradation aroma, and as a result, need to be
excess

protected so that these micronutrients in fortified foods and supple­

ments to remain stable/available, and delivered to the required body
tissues. Indeed, the application of nanoencapsulation has helped greatly
reported to play roles in biological
Many of these minerals have been

systems in humans, animals, and

to meet these needs.

Table 3 shows the minerals dietary sources, category description,
biological functions and its excess, together with their nano­
Categorical description

encapsulation. Various minerals have had one form of nano­

encapsulation applied to enable it meet the human needs, and solve
various ailments arising. For instance in vitro and in vivo nano­
encapsulation of arsenic trioxide (Baccarelli and Bollati, 2009; Ahn
lactating nor pregnant) of all ages, the ranges can differ for people of different age groups.
plants.

et al., 2013), Boron nitride quantum dots (BNQDs)used for molecular

probing (Doaa and Alejandro, 2021), novel nanocapsules formulated for
the delivery of 2-dimethylamino-4,5,6,7-tetrabromo-1H-benzimidazole
Can range from

(DMAT) (McCall et al., 2014), alginate with Ca2+ ions being nano­
depending on
microgram to

the elements
milligram

encapsulation of food systems (Drewnowski, 2010; Food and Nutrition

UL (mg)

Board, 2020), novel nanocarrier using NPs of alginate for ZnCl2 and
FeCl3 (EFSA, 2006; Food and Nutrition Board, 2020), as well as nano­
encapsulated hexavalent chromium with nanoscale zero-valent iron
(Gropper and Smith, 2012; Kim et al., 2014; US National Institutes of
mostly named after

Health, 2016; Huang et al., 2018; Food and Nutrition Board, 2020).
Deficiencies are

Others include cobalt nanoencapsulated with appropriate nano­

terminology

the element
Deficiency

materials (EFSA, 2006; Luciana et al., 2012; Food and Nutrition Board,
2020), nanoparticles of copper (Schlenker and Gilbert, 2014; Food and
Nutrition Board, 2020), nanoencapsulated fluoride (Sampaio, 2017),
nanoencapsulated potassium iodate and potassium iodide (Jameson and
high nutrient density
Dietary sources with

animal food sources

De Groot, 2015; National Institutes of Health, 2016a; Food and Nutri­

Several plant and

tion Board, 2020), nanoliposomes that entrapped ferrous glycinate

(Ding et al., 2011a; National Institutes of Health, 2016b; Food and
Nutrition Board, 2020), as well as Lithium as a reagent for preparing
organic nanomaterials (Goldstein and Mascitelli, 2016). Molybdenum,
nickel, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium, strontium, zinc and
Table 3 (continued )

others (Silicon, vanadium, tungsten, cadmium, aluminium, germanium,

lead, rubidium,

lead, rubidium, tin, etc.)have also been nanoencapsulated with some

Dietary mineral

Other (Silicon,

germanium,
aluminium,
vanadium,

degree of success, as well (EFSA, 2006; Schlenker and Gilbert, 2014;

cadmium,
tungsten,

tin, etc.)
(element)

Food and Nutrition Board, 2020; Sydor and Zamble, 2013; Linus Pauling
Institute, 2014; Luciana et al., 2012; National Institutes of Health,
2016d; EFSA, 2006; Katuwavila et al., 2016; Emsley, 2011; National

11
C.G. Awuchi et al.
Institutes of Health, 2016e; Zoroddu et al., 2019).
Nanotechniques using nanoliposomes used in formulations are able
to target minerals. Ding et al. (2011a) prepared nanoliposomes that
entrapped ferrous glycinate formulated from phosphatidylcholine of egg
and reported a significant effect in decreased deficiency of Fe in rats
compared to two free Fe. Ding et al. (2011b) also formulated stable
nanoliposomes below 100 nm with no agglomeration, and with 69.6 to
76.2% encapsulation efficiency and 6.3 mV zeta-potential at 7.0 pH. It
was suggested that applying of the nanocarriers in fortification of many
foods can be remarkable based on the data obtained (Ding et al., 2011b).
Microfluidization has been used to fabricate many FeSO4-based nano­
liposomes (Hermida et al., 2011). The highest Fe integration into the
matrix of the nanoliposomes was checked for cholesterol. The formu­
lated nanoliposomes can be used in the end products due to their strong
antioxidative properties and high Fe absorption (Hermida et al., 2011).
Sodium-alginate nanoparticles can be applied as a wall for FeSO4 using
controlled ionic gelation techniques. In a study involving such tech­
nique, the Fe (0.06% w/v)-loaded alginate NPs of 15 to 30 nm showed a
prolonged in vitro kinetic release for four days and the release rate of Fe
was largely relied on pH; the release of Fe at pH of non-Fickian diffusion
(6.0 and 7.4) and Fickian diffusion (2.0) were 65–70% and 20%,
respectively (Katuwavila et al., 2016).
The nanoemulsions exhibited stability against separation based on
phase after storage for 10 days at − 4 ◦ C, with slight color change and a
slow creaming percentage (1.6%) at 45 ◦ C for the same 10 days. Naveen
and Kanum (2014) formulated a stable phospholipid-oil-in-water
nanoemulsion of Fe with 59 nm z-average for milk fortification. The
results showed that phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol emulsifiers can
give the least polydispersity index and droplet sizes (Naveen and
Kanum, 2014). Via in vivo, higher bioavailability in rat models that
consumed the fortified milk was found compared to the rats fed with
milk that was enriched with direct Fe addition.
3.3. Nanoencapsulation of antimicrobial agents and essential oils
Antimicrobial agents and essential oils are very important in food
systems, nutrition, nutraceuticals, biomedicine, and pharmaceuticals.
Antimicrobial agents are substances or agents that kill microorganisms
(microbiocidal) or stop their growth (microbiostatic). They can be an­
tibiotics, antifungals, antiprotozoans, antibacterials, antivirals, etc.
Antimicrobial agents can be classified based on their origin as natural
antimicrobials and traditional chemical preservatives (Zhang et al.,
2017). Natural antimicrobials are popular for their wide applications as
alternatives to treatments with traditional antimicrobial. Several chal­
lenges confront the use of natural antimicrobials in food formulations,
mostly due to their degradation, volatility, low solubility, and effects on
sensory qualities of end products. All these challenges, to a large extent,
can be overcome by the applications of nanoencapsulation.
Besides nanoencapsulation for antimicrobials being reported by
many workers, the suitability of nanoemulsions hang on its compati­
bility and scalable preparation approaches, including high pressure
homogenization. Antimicrobial agents (such as peppermint oil and
nystatin) can be pre-dissolved in generally used domestic and industrial
oils (such as sunflower oil, soybean oil, groundnut oil) and then emul­
sified with dissolved emulsifiers in the aqueous phases using high energy
(Campos et al., 2012). Nanoemulsions-loaded essential oils (such as
eugenol, thyme oil) can be formulated by direct homogenization in
aqueous solution, to improve their antimicrobial activities than free
essential oils (Xue et al., 2015; Ma et al., 2016). An emulsion self-
assembly during neutralization and a self-emulsification using the
essential oils deprotonation in alkaline conditions were successfully
used to formulated nanoemulsions loaded with essential oils (Zhang
et al., 2016; Luo et al., 2014). For the method of phase-inversion
composition, emulsions of essential oil with and with no other phase
of oil can be formulated beyond critical ratio of surfactant-to-oil by
simply mixing (Ma and Zhong, 2015).
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Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088
Nanoliposomes, as lipid-based nanocarriers, are widely studied for
antimicrobial delivery due to their excellent properties, including
unique bilayer structure, readily tunable formulation, and high loading
capacity (Thamphiwatana et al., 2013). The unique bilayer structures
make their easy entrance into bacteria through fusing with the bacterial
membranes. To obtain nanoencapsulated essential oil with small uni­
lamellar vesicles of 20–100 nm sizes, thin film hydration is commonly
employed together with sonification (Sinico et al., 2005; Ortan et al.,
2009). Additionally, novel rapid expansions of the process of super­
critical solution was used to nanoencapsulate essential oil from rose, and
a 89.46% entrapment efficiency and 94 nm average nanoparticle size
were reported (Wen et al., 2011).
High pressure homogenization was used to entrap nisin, a nano­
structured lipid carrier, in SLNPs, which through slow release was able
to inhibit the growth of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Listeria mono­
cytogenes over not less than 15 to 20 days (Prombutara et al., 2012).
Eugenol, an extract from Clove, was nanoencapsulated in Compritol®
based SLNPs using the method of spray drying and was shown to have a
high retention (Cortés-Rojas et al., 2014). Due to the balanced hydro­
philic and hydrophobic portions of amino acids, caseinate or casein is
used as natural nanocarriers. Pan et al. (2014) directly studied high
shear homogenized thymol mixed in solution of caseinate, and reported
that the nanoencapsulated thymol had significantly enhanced anti­
listerial activities in milk at various fat concentrations and also had
transparent appearance. In a different study, the formed essential oils
and CD complex significantly enhanced their antimicrobial properties
against many microorganisms and reduced minimum effective antimi­
crobials levels (Hill et al., 2013).
Biopolymer NPs are also applied in formulations for efficient pro­
tection of several essential oils and antimicrobial agents. Conjugate of
whey-maltodextrin was used for thymol nanoencapsulation and stabi­
lization, inhibiting L. monocytogenes and E. coli growth in apple cider and
reduced fat milk with no effect on the beverage's transparency (Bhavini
et al., 2012). Antisolvent method or liquid-liquid dispersion is usually
used for formulating zein NPs that can form spherical NPs with hydro­
phobic antimicrobial agents such as essential oils nanoentrapped into
zein NPs lipophilic chamber (Parris et al., 2005). D-Limonene encapsu­
lated in modified starch NPs improved MIC against E. coli, L. delbruecki,
and S. cerevisiae significantly because of the nanoparticle size in com­
parison to D-limonene in pure form (Donsi et al., 2011). Chitosan-
carageenan NPs loaded with nisin formulated using ionic complexa­
tion showed better in vitro antimicrobial properties (Chopra et al.,
2014). Through clove bud oil self-emulsification, gum Arabic or in
combination with other biopolymers, such as lecithin and whey protein
concentrate, formed NPs with clearer appearance in aqueous solutions
with significant increase in antimicrobial activities against Salmonella, L.
monocytogenes, and E. coli, showing nanoencapsulation effectiveness in
improving antimicrobial activities (Luo et al., 2014).
Nanoencapsulation of antimicrobials, including essential oils of
Mentha piperita, using nanogels has benefits which include sustained,
slow, prolonged, and controlled release of bioactive materials from the
nanocarrier (Beyki et al., 2014). The nanofibers showed antimicrobial
activities that can be promising for active and smart food packaging.
Electrospraying is also used to direct formulate edible antimicrobial
coatings on food materials. Essential oil of peppermint was nano­
encapsulated successfully into biopolymers of alginate using electro­
spraying and was reported to be stable after the nanoencapsulation
(Ghayempour and Mortazavi, 2014). Hu et al. (2016) formulated
eugenol nanoemulsions nano-ultrafine powders using nano-spray dryer,
and it was reported to show better re-dispersibility and morphological
properties than lyophilization. However, the application of this novel
nanotechnology for natural antimicrobial agents nanoencapsulation is
limited at present, although it has gained more attention from interest
groups in because of the admirable antimicrobial properties, high yield,
delivery, ease of scaleup, and narrow size distribution (Gu et al., 2015).
Novel nanocomposites with inorganic nanolayers are used as
C.G. Awuchi et al.
antimicrobial nanocarriers. Nanoclay of montmorillonite that has two
silica tetrahedral sheets fused to edge-shared alumina octahedral sheet
was incorporated in chitosan or alginate, forming biological nano­
composites with essential oils encapsulation (Alboofetileh et al., 2014).
The films of nanocomposite obtained exhibited improved antimicrobial
activities and mechanical properties. Carvacrol was used in the nano­
composites of methyl cellulose to prepare nano-film with improved
antimicrobial properties and carvacrol controlled release (Tunç and
Duman, 2011). The nanocomposites of antimicrobials can be placed on
the surface of the material as an extra layer (Nikiforov et al., 2016).
3.4. Nanoencapsulation of antioxidants and phenolic compounds
(phenols and polyphenols)
Phenolic compounds (phenols and polyphenols) are well-known to
constitute hydroxylated aromatic rings, wherein the hydroxyl group
would directly attach to the phenyl(Elham and Seid, 2018; Pilar et al.,
2019). While phenol (carbolic acid) is any aromatic organic compound
that has the formula C6H5OH, polyphenols are diverse family of natu­
rally occurring organic compounds with multiple units of phenols.
Phenolic compounds have very strong antioxidant properties, as well as
antiinflammatory, antiallergenic, antimicrobial, antithrombotic, anti­
diabetic, and anti-atherogenic properties (Elham and Seid, 2018; Pilar
et al., 2019). As a group, they are very important phytochemicals
commonly found mostly in plant foods (Arshad et al., 2021). As anti­
oxidants, they can help get rid of free radicals and are commonly used as
food additives and therapeutic formulations mostly due to their unique
properties that extend product shelf-life with no adverse effects on its
nutritional and sensory qualities, as well as their therapeutic effects
against some health conditions.
Antioxidants are well known substances able to inhibit a chemical
reaction that generates free radicals and chain reactions, commonly
known as oxidation, that can damage cells or other molecules (Esfanjani
and Jafari, 2017). Fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants (herbs), etc., are
high in antioxidants. Antioxidants are generally classified into enzy­
matic and non-enzymatic antioxidants (Esfanjani and Jafari, 2017).
Largely, enzymatic antioxidants would break down to remove the free
radicals. Actually, the antioxidant enzymes work by converting harmful
oxidative products to hydrogen peroxide, and further convert them to
water in multiple step processes, usually in the presence of cofactors (e.
g. manganese, iron, zinc, copper). This differs from non-enzymatic an­
tioxidants that interrupt free radical chain reactions. Nanoencapsulation
is widely understood to improve the bioavailability of antioxidants and
phenolic compounds, as well as their absorption, permeation, protec­
tion, and solubility.
Nature-inspired nanocarriers, e.g., caseins and cyclodextrins, are
used to nanoencapsulate phenolic compounds and antioxidants for
protection against destructive environment conditions (such as tem­
perature, oxygen, pH, light), with improved solubility in water. Curcu­
min was added to cyclodextrins (CDs) hydrophobic part to increase its
solubility in water and the encapsulation efficiency of the cyclodextrins
was enhanced by increasing curcumin ratio to cyclodextrin; this may be
as a result of the higher possibility of entrapping curcumin in CDs
(Yallapu et al., 2010). Curcumin nanoencapsulation in CD NPs improved
its therapeutic efficacy and delivery in cells of prostate cancer in com­
parison with free curcumin. Casein, a protein in milk and dairy products,
has open structures that have several evenly distributed residues of
proline in their amino acids. Casein is very tendentious for binding
bioactive compounds, including antioxidants and phenolic compounds.
The hydrophobic interactions between the micelles of β-casein and
curcumin can increase curcumin solubility, antioxidant activity, and
bioavailability (Esmaili et al., 2011).
Antioxidants and phenolic compounds can also be loaded in NPs or
nanofibers using electrospraying and electrospinning, respectively
(Esfanjani and Jafari, 2016). Biopolymers, including carbohydrates
(such as chitosan, gums, cellulose, pectin, starch) and proteins (such as
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Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088
zein, whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate), can be used to
formulate nanoparticles and nanofibers loaded with antioxidants and
phenolic compounds using electrospraying and electrospinning. Neo
et al. (2013) formulated gallic acid-enriched ultra-fine nanofibers of zein
using electrospinning, with the final fibers having 327–387 nm diam­
eter. This resulted in improved properties and qualities of the gallic acid.
There are other complex emulsions such as multiple nanoemulsions are
used for nanoencapsulating water soluble and fat-soluble antioxidants
and phenolic compounds (Faridi Esfanjani et al., 2017). Mohammadi
et al. (2016) designed sustained and stable release of nano-
encapsulation of phenolic extracts from olive leaves through multiple
emulsions of water-in-oil-in-water stabilized by pectin and whey protein
concentrate (WPC). They reported that the antioxidant activities of the
system in soybean oil was higher compared with the non-encapsulated
extract of the olive leaves. Chatzidaki et al. (2015) reported nano­
encapsulation of natural antioxidants, which included tyrosol, proto­
catechuic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, and gallic acid, using food-grade
water-in-oil emulsions formulated from lecithin, water, alcohols, iso­
propyl myristate, capric triglycerides, and caprylic triglycerides. Cadena
et al. (2013) showed that antioxidant properties of flavonoids, including
resveratrol and quercetin, are increased by incorporation in nano­
liposomes. The nanoencapsulation resulted in small unilamellar with
average 149 nm diameter, 0.3 polydispersion index, and (− 13.3 mV zeta
potential suitable and stable for subcutaneous injection.
Fat-soluble phenolic and antioxidant compounds, including lignins,
carotenoids, tannins, and hydroxycinnamic acids, can be encapsulated
in oil-in-water nanoemulsions through dispersal in oil droplets sur­
rounded by surfactants or emulsifiers as walls. In such nano­
encapsulation, it is needful to first dissolve the compounds of interest to
oil with no crystal formation(Qian et al., 2012). Some compounds, e.g.,
resveratrol, should be diluted in alcohol, such as ethanol, prior to being
dissolved in oil (Sessa et al., 2014). Ru et al. (2010) encapsulated
epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) in nano-emulsions stabilized using
β-lactoglobulin and ι-carrageenan, with the aim of developing biocom­
patible EGCG nanocarriers. The nano-encapsulated EGCG had an
average size of 400 nm and had improved anticancer activities, in vitro,
in comparison with free EGCG.
Loading antioxidants and phenolic compounds in solid lipid nano­
particles (SLNPs) would improve their bioavailability. Resveratrol was
nanoencapsulated in SLNPs produced using Tween 80 alone or its
combination with polyvinyl alcohol (Jose et al., 2014). The zeta po­
tential and diameter of the particles were -25.49 mV and 248.30 nm,
respectively (Jose et al., 2014). The SLNPs loaded with resveratrol
showed a sustained and controlled release, with promising therapeutic
application in treating brain tissue neoplastic diseases (Jose et al.,
2014). NPs of biopolymers are used for nanoencapsulating antioxidants
and phenolic compounds. EGCG antioxidant properties are improved by
loading in nanoparticles of β-lactoglobulin (β-Lg) (Li et al., 2012). Chi­
tosan NPs are also used in the nanoencapsulation of antioxidants and
phenolic compounds due to their biodegradability, biocompatibility,
non-toxicity, mucous adhesiveness, encapsulation efficiency, etc. Tang
et al. (2013) formulated self-assembled, pH-responsive poly γ-glutamic
acid and chitosan nanoparticles for tea catechins oral delivery. The
catechins NPs with positive surface charge may temporarily open the
tight junction in-between cells of CaCO-2 and consequently increase the
tea catechins paracellular transport. Complexed biopolymeric NPs can
also be applied for nanoencapsulating phenolic compounds and anti­
oxidants. Ha et al. (2013) applied chitosan and β-Lg NPs for quercetin
nanoencapsulation. The study strengthens the way for non-lipid quer­
cetin delivery system in the formulations of foods and nutraceuticals,
especially non-fat and low-fat foods.
3.5. Nanoencapsulation of essential fatty acids and fish oil
Fatty acids (FAs) are carboxylic acids with long aliphatic chain that
are either saturated or unsaturated. Fish oils are derived from oily fish
C.G. Awuchi et al. Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088

tissues and mainly contain omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid Table 4
(DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), which are the precursors of Grams of omega-3 fatty acids per 3 oz. (85 g) serving of popular fish and
some eicosanoids known to improve hypertriglyceridemia and reduce non-fish foods (Kris-Etherton et al., 2002; American Heart Association,
inflammation in the body. Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are the fatty acids 2010).
required by the body and must be ingested by humans and animals for Common name grams
good health, as they can cannot be synthesized in the body, because of Fish
the lack of specific desaturase enzymes. Moreover, α-linolenic acid, Barramundi, saltwater 0.100
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are the Blue eye cod 0.31
most significant omega-3 FAs essential to humans (Tontul et al., 2017). Catfish 0.22–0.3
Cod 0.15–0.24
Generally, linolenic acids mostly occur in seeds, plants, and nuts oils. Flounder 0.48
Table 4 shows the omega-3 fatty acids in common fish and non-fish Giant tiger prawn 0.100
sources. Due to the degree of unsaturated double bonds, unsaturated Greenshell/lipped mussels 0.95
fatty acids, as shown in Table 5, especially polyunsaturated fatty acids, Grouper 0.23
Halibut 0.60–1.12
are chemically unstable and susceptible to oxidation and rancidity in
Herring, sardines 1.3–2
general. Oxidation is among the main problems in fish oils and EFAs, Hoki (blue grenadier) 0.41
and can easily deteriorates their flavor (aroma and taste) and also form King mackerel 0.36
unsafe compounds, as well as free radicals (Ghorbanzade et al., 2017a, Mahi mahi 0.13
2017b). Free radicals formed due to oxidation constitute a major risk to Orange roughy 0.028
Pollock 0.45
humans. Oxidation has to be retarded or suppressed in EFAs (and other
Red snapper 0.29
FAs) and fish oils to improve their durability, availability, stability, Salmon 1.1–1.9
protection, and delivery. Nanoencapsulation is used to inhibit oxidation Shark 0.83
and improve the stability of fish oils and EFAs. Silver gemfish 0.40
Snapper 0.22
Nanoemulsions help in controlling as well as protecting the release of
Spanish mackerel, Atlantic, Pacific 1.1–1.7
essential fatty acids and fish oil. Nanoemulsions of fish oil with NP sizes Swordfish 0.97
below 488 nm can be formulated with Tween 80 and chitosan as Sydney rock oyster 0.30
emulsifiers using mechanical stirring (Esquerdo et al., 2015). Gulotta Tilefish 0.9
et al. (2014) did a study and described the effect of co-solvent compo­ Tuna 0.21–1.1
Tuna (canned, light) 0.17–0.24
sitions, adding various oils, and ratio of surfactant-to-oil on the stability
Tuna, canned 0.23
and formation of nanoemulsions of fish oil formulated using self-
emulsification. For the formation of nanoemulsions with <200 nm
Non-fish
droplet sizes, fish oil should be below 40% and 50% in MCT and lemon Eggs, large regular 0.109
oil mixtures respectively (Gulotta et al., 2014). Chemical and physical Lean red meat 0.031
stability of nanoemulsions formulation of lemon oil and fish oil were Walnut 1.7
assessed after their preparation with spontaneous emulsification Hemp seeds 7.4
Chia seeds 14.8
(Walker et al., 2015). Uluata et al. (2015)compared the effectiveness of
Flaxseeds 19.55
natural and synthetic surfactants (two each) in nanoemulsification of Turkey 0.030
fish oil using microfluidization. The nanoemulsions droplet sizes ob­ Bread, regular 0.00
tained wide ranges when formulated with quillaja saponin, lecithin, and Cereals, rice, pasta, etc. 0.00
Tween 80, in that order. Increasing levels of sodium chloride led to Fruit 0.00
Milk, regular 0.00
bigger droplet sizes with all of the surfactants. Nejadmansouri et al. Vegetables 0.00
(2016) reported that increase in pH and WPI-fish oil ratio led to smaller Butter 0.27
sized nanoemulsions with their oxidative stability higher than their Soybean 1.1
coarse counterpart.
Nanoliposomes would help to increase the bioavailability and sta­
nanoencapsulated fish oils oxidized faster in comparison with the un­
bility of EFAs and fish oils against oxidation. Sahari et al. (2016)
protected oils. They concluded that the poor oxidative stability could be
formulated 73 to 107 nm multilamellar nanoliposomes of EPA and DHA
as a result of the trace metals present in the polymers and the oils
with dipalmitoyl phosphocholines as their membranes. α-tocopherol
increased surface area that enabled permeation of oxygen into the
incorporation limited DHA and EPA degradation and was clearer in
structure of the nanofibers. Other studies nanoencapsulated fish oil in
samples under 90 days storage at 4 ◦ C. Rasti et al. (2012) made a
nanofibers of zein using electrospinning and evaluated the oil properties
comparison between the physical and oxidative stabilities of DHA + EPA
and oxidative stability, in vitro, under simulated conditions (Moomand
nanoliposomes formulated using thin-film hydration, a conventional
and Lim, 2014a, 2014b). The nanofibers loaded with 30% fish oil and
technique. The nanoliposomes formulated with no organic solvent
isopropanol showed the maximum stability. In addition, isopropanol
exhibited the maximum oxidative stability under storage at 4 ◦ C for 10
facilitated higher rates of erosion and swelling under gastrointestinal
months. Ghorbanzade et al. (2017a, 2017b) formulated nanoliposomes
fluid. Torres-Giner et al. (2010) nanocapsules loaded with DHA were
loaded with fish oil and used them to fortify yoghurt. The yoghurt for­
formulated with zein prolamine coating using electrospraying. Increase
tified with the fish oil nanoliposomes showed similar sensory properties
in the ratio of zein/DHA led to reduced DHA oxidation. Storage at high
as the control. After storage for 21 days, EPA and DHA were higher in
temperatures and dry conditions accelerated the oil oxidation. Gómez-
the yoghurt fortified with fish oil nanoliposomes in comparison to the
Mascaraque and López-Rubio (2016) formulated α-linolenic acid nano­
one fortified with free fish oils.
capsules using electrospraying, and reported encapsulation efficiency of
Nanocarriers can be formulated (with special equipment)and applied
67%, 61%, and 40% for soy protein isolate, whey protein concentrate,
in the nanoencapsulation of EFAs and fish oils. García-Moreno et al.
and gelatin, respectively. Whey protein concentrate gave the most stable
(2016) formulated nanofibers of fish oil nanoemulsions in polyvinyl
nanocapsules, seconded by soy protein isolates.
alcohol (a synthetic polymer) using electrospinning. The results showed
Nature-inspired nanocarriers have been used in encapsulating EFAs
that high levels up to 10.5% of the polymer were required, despite the
and fish oil. A study reported that a molecule of casein bound 3 or 4 DHA
type of emulsifier, to formulate smooth nanofiber; higher fish oil led to
molecules and resulting micelles had 288.9 nm diameter. The average
thicker nanofibers (García-Moreno et al., 2016). However, the

14
C.G. Awuchi et al. Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088

Table 5
Common unsaturated fatty acids and their structures that influence their unstable nature.
Common name Δx IUPAC n− C:D Chemical structure
x

Arachidonic acid cis,cis,cis,cis-Δ5Δ8,Δ11,Δ14 20:4(5,8,11,14) n− 20:4 CH3(CH2)4CH=CHCH2CH=CHCH2CH=CHCH2CH=CH(CH2)3COOH

6
Docosahexaenoic cis,cis,cis,cis,cis,cis- 22:6 n− 22:6 CH3CH2CH=CHCH2CH=CHCH2CH=CHCH2CH=CHCH2CH=CHCH2CH=CH
acid Δ4,Δ7,Δ10,Δ13,Δ16,Δ19 (4,7,10,13,16,19) 3 (CH2)2COOH
Eicosapentaenoic cis,cis,cis,cis,cis- 20:5(5,8,11,14,17) n− 20:5 CH3CH2CH=CHCH2CH=CHCH2CH=CHCH2CH=CHCH2CH=CH(CH2)3COOH
acid Δ5,Δ8,Δ11,Δ14,Δ17 3
Elaidic acid trans-Δ9 n− 18:1 CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7COOH
9
13
Erucic acid cis-Δ 22:1(13) n− 22:1 CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)11COOH
9
Linoelaidic acid trans,trans-Δ9,Δ12 n− 18:2 CH3(CH2)4CH=CHCH2CH=CH(CH2)7COOH
6
Linoleic acid cis,cis-Δ9,Δ12 18:2(9,12) n− 18:2 CH3(CH2)4CH=CHCH2CH=CH(CH2)7COOH
6
9
Myristoleic acid cis-Δ 14:1(9) n− 14:1 CH3(CH2)3CH=CH(CH2)7COOH
5
9
Oleic acid cis-Δ 18:1(9) n− 18:1 CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7COOH
9
Palmitoleic acid cis-Δ9 16:1(9) n− 16:1 CH3(CH2)5CH=CH(CH2)7COOH
7
Sapienic acid cis-Δ6 16:1(6) n− 16:1 CH3(CH2)8CH=CH(CH2)4COOH
10
11
Vaccenic acid trans-Δ n− 18:1 CH3(CH2)5CH=CH(CH2)9COOH
7
α-Linolenic acid cis,cis,cis-Δ9,Δ12,Δ15 18:3(9,12,15) n− 18:3 CH3CH2CH=CHCH2CH=CHCH2CH=CH(CH2)7COOH
3

Δx indicates each of the double bond in the FA, with the double bond positioned on the xth C–C bond, as counted from the end with carboxylic acid.
“C:D” is numerical symbol: total (C)arbon atoms of the FA, and its number of (D)ouble bonds; if D is greater than 1, there is assumption that the double bonds are
separated by at least methylene bridge.
In the nomenclature of n minus x (omega-x or ω − x), an FAs double bond is positioned on the xth C–C bond, as counted from the terminal methyl carbon (n or ω)
toward the carbonyl carbon.

diameter reduced to 50 to 60 nm with addition of phosphate and cal­
cium (Zimet et al., 2011). Choi et al. (2010) formulated nanocomplexes
of fish oil and β-CD at various ratios with more than 84% encapsulation
efficiency and 278 to 714 nm particle size. The quickest release was
reported in fish sauce, seconded by 25% NaCl/water. Hǎdǎruga et al.
(2016) formulated nanocomplexes of salmon oil and β-CD at various
ratios. The best ratio in terms of the thermal and hydration properties
was obtained at the 1:3 ratio. Nature-inspired nanocarriers are prom­
ising in nanoencapsulation of EFAs and fish oils.
Salminen et al. (2016) formulate SLNPs with tristearin as nanocarrier
via fish oil, in addition with either extract of quillaja alone or combined
with lecithin. The SLNPs polydispersity index and particle size were
stable, with the exception of quillaja-low-melting lecithin. SLNPs pro­
duced with quillaja-hot melting lecithin combination was found to be
more protective and chemically more stable than those formulated with
quillaja alone or its combination with low melting lecithin. Earlier,
Salminen et al. (2014) compared nanoemulsions and NLCs loaded with
fish oils for their chemical and physical stability. The contents of fish oils
and surfactants were similar in the two nanosystems, however tristearin
was used during the NLCs production. With same concentration of sur­
factant, NLCs caused more stable and smaller NPs than nanoemulsions.
The NLCs had more protective effects against lipid oxidation and also
had 57%, 53, and 72 lower levels of hexanal, propanal, and lipid hy­
droperoxides, respectively, than nanoemulsions. Wang et al. (2014)
formulated 300 to 350 nm NLCs from oils of microalga with Poloxamer
188 and stearic acid using microfluidization. More than 88.8% encap­
sulation efficiency was reported even in high concentrations of oils. Zhu
et al. (2015) prepared stable NLCs loaded fish oil with Tween 80 and
glyceryl monostearate using ultrasonication. Then NLCs-loaded fluo­
rescein isothiocyanate was formulated under the obtained conditions.
They reported that in addition to the effectiveness of NLCs in delivering
fish oil, NLCs can also increase water insoluble bioactives cellular
uptake.
Fish oil coacervates were prepared from biopolymer nanocarriers by
electrostatic interactions between gum Arabic and sodium caseinate
(Ilyasoglu and El, 2014). The NPs obtained had 78.9% encapsulation
efficiency and average 232 nm particle size. The DHA and EPA bio­
accessibility in fruit juice enriched with them were 56 and 36%,
respectively (Ilyasoglu and El, 2014). Chitosan and tripolyphosphate
were used to nanoencapsulate krill oil using coacervation, and the sta­
bility of the krill oil significantly improved than the bulk oil under high
temperature storage (Haider et al., 2016). The stability of the nano­
capsules loaded with fish oil improved, especially when there was more
than 4:1 ratio of zein-fish oil. Tavakolipour et al. (2015) in their study
crosslinked zein NPs loaded with pomegranate seed oil along with citric
acid and evaluated the physical and chemical properties of the NPs. The
crosslinked NPs particle size was less than the particle size of the non-
crosslinked. Crosslinking increased the oil thermal stability and
slowed its release from NPs in gastric digestion.
3.6. Nanoencapsulation of flavors (flavorings or flavorants)
Flavors (flavorings or flavorants) are essential constituents of foods,
nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and similar products, which increase
their desirability, as primarily determined by the chemical senses of the
olfactory and gustatory system. Flavorings can be natural, nature iden­
tical, or artificial (Asghari Ghajari et al., 2017). Some flavors commonly
used in foods and food related products include phenolic compounds in
smoked products, terpenoids in piney and citrus, aldehydes in fruits,
acetyl-L-pyrazines in popcorn, 2-Isobutyl-3 methoxypyrazine in green
peppers, methoxypyrazines in vegetables, allylpyrazine in roasted nuts,
etc. (Asghari Ghajari et al., 2017). Most flavorings are not stable and can
be easily degraded. Novel nanotechnologies such as nanoencapsulation
are used to preserve and protect properties of flavors. Nano­
encapsulation present wide advantages including easy handling of liquid
flavors (flavorings or flavorants) by converting them to powders of
suitable NP sizes, masking off-flavors, prolonging shelf-life, providing
targeted and controlled release, and the capacity to change the yields'

15
C.G. Awuchi et al.
textural properties, as well as improved stability against oxygen, high
temperatures, and/or light.
The effects of flavor components on the properties and formation of
oil-in-water nanoemulsions reported by Rao (2013), found that during
storage lower the oil folds appeared very unstable in developing droplet
(s) with the growth rate increasing proportionally with decreasing oil
level and increasing storage temperature. More so, the levels of the oil
had effect on the stability and solubilization of the nanoemulsions
loaded with flavors. Zhao et al. (2013) studied oil-in-water nano­
emulsions loaded with citral, along with the effects of different
ubiquinol-10 concentrations on citral stability. The optimum ubiquinol
concentration required for citral protection from oxidation and chemical
degradation in the formulation was about 0.10% by weight. Citral
oxidation of off-flavor substances (such as α-pdimethylstyrene, p-meth­
ylacetophenone, p-cresol) and other products was reported. Natural
nanocarriers have important characteristics, e.g. the formation of
nanocomplexes between volatile molecules and amylose. Polymers such
as starch can form inclusion nanocomplexes with volatile substances,
particularly small nonpolar substances (Putseys et al., 2010). Adding
volatile compounds can induce single left-handed α-helix formation
called V-type amylose, leading to encasing of compounds within the
helical cavities (Tusch et al., 2011).
Starch is capable of building several micro and nanostructures based
on its glassy, gel, granular, and crystalline nature. The properties of
aroma compounds' physical adsorption onto the matrix of the starch can
be affected by these structural features. Ades et al. (2012) made use of
starch with several levels of amylose to prepare nanocomplexes with
menthol, limonene, and menthone. Unlike V-amylose complexes of
menthol and menthone, limonene did not effectively form complexes.
Increase in amylose levels resulted in the occurrence of higher aroma
complexation and less free core levels (Ades et al., 2012). The oral
digestion results showed that the nanocomplexes have the capacity to
release the main salivary materials, especially menthol and menthone.
As a result, these nanocomplexes may be suitable for controlled release
of aroma. Besides, nanoparticles of biopolymers are also used in nano­
encapsulation of flavoring.
3.7. Nanoencapsulation of food coloring (color additives)
Food coloring, also called color additive, is any pigment, dye, or
substance that imparts color when added to food, drink, pharmaceuti­
cals, nutraceuticals, drugs, etc. Color additives can come in form of gels,
liquids, pastes, and powders, and can be natural or synthetic. As safety is
a major concern in the use of color additives, natural colorants are
preferred as better alternatives to their synthetic counterparts. Natural
food colors are obtained from several sources such as fruits, vegetables,
minerals, plant extracts, etc., and include many color additives that
show varied stability and solubility. In general, based on structure, color
additives are classified into six; flavonoids (including anthocyanins),
heme groups, betalains, chlorophylls, carotenoids, and miscellaneous
colorants (Akhavan et al., 2018). These natural pigments are not stable
and can be easily degraded after extraction. To maintain the stability,
protection, solubility, and structure of these color additive for high
product quality and improved acceptance to the consumers is key.
Multiple water-in-oil-in-water nanoemulsions accommodate saffron
colorant and its bioactive compounds, with excellent encapsulation ef­
ficiency (Esfanjani et al., 2015). Qian et al. (2012) formulated oil-in-
water nanoemulsions that confined β-carotene within <200 nm di­
ameters using Tween 20. The results showed improved stability and
delivery, with great encapsulation efficiency.
Nanoliposomes are commonly used in the nanoencapsulation of
colorants. Moraes et al. (2013) studied the production of nanoliposomes
loaded with β-carotene and reported that the nanocarrier showed
increased solubility. The formulated nano-matrix retained at least 90%
of encased β-carotene at refrigeration temperature/vacuum for 60 days.
Another study showed that resistance of astaxanthin encapsulated in
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Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088
nanoliposomes against UV rays and thermal processing increased by
three-fold and two-fold, respectively (Yoo et al., 2010). Thin film
evaporation has proven to be useful for the nanoliposomes production
and was used to entrap carotenoids (Tan et al., 2014). Tan et al. (2014)
reported that β-carotene and lutein were gradually released from
nanoliposomes in GI tract, whereas canthaxanthin and lycopene added
into nanoliposomes showed burst and fast release. Lutein-loaded nano­
liposomes had the maximum bioaccessibility. A study extracted antho­
cyanins from red cabbage and used SLNPs to nanoencapsulate them; it
showed 89.2% encapsulation efficiency and about 455 nm average NP
size (Ravanfar et al., 2016). Lacatusu et al. (2013) formulated NLCs for
lutein nanoencapsulation and reported about 200 nm particle sizes and
89% entrapment efficiency.
Nature-inspired nanocarriers are used in nanoencapsulation of col­
orants. Nerome et al. (2013) aimed at increasing lycopene dispersion in
water using β-CD and super critical fluids. They measured parameters
such as the β-CD and lycopene amounts applied, volume velocity of CO2,
volume velocities of the solution along with temperature and pressure of
the process and reported that by applying these parameters at high
levels, 40 nm particles were obtained. Sáiz-Abajo et al. (2013) applied
caseins to stabilize, preserve, and entangle β-carotene in normal pro­
cessing conditions using self-assembly reactions. The micelles of casein
preserved the molecules of β-carotene even under harsh and rigorous
processing conditions common in food industries, such as baking.
4. From understanding the bioavailability principle to major
nanoencapsulation methods associated with food constituents
4.1. Understanding the bioavailability principle associated with food
constituents
Prior to achieving nanoencapsulation methods, it is important to
understand the bioavailability principle associated with food constitu­
ents. Generally, bioavailability refers to the extent, rate, and fraction of
an administered/ingested nutrient, nutraceutical, drug dose, or bioac­
tive compound available at the action site in the body. Two major factors
influence bioavailability, which include: (1) physiological factors
(gastric emptying rate, the small intestine lumen pH, and intestinal
walls' changes) and (2) formulation factors (particle size, excipients, and
amorphous/crystalline state) (Yu and Huang, 2013). To improve the
bioavailability, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and food industries in­
crease the time of circulation of nanocarriers in the GI tract, mostly
through surface coating using protein that will greatly modify nano­
carriers adhesive properties and behavior in GI tract, since certain
proteins specifically bind to sites with sugar-residue and located at
epithelial cells' surface. Solubilized nutraceuticals and nutrients are
mainly absorbed in the small intestine through several absorptive cells
across the epithelial tissues/cells. (Li et al., 2015). On this, nano­
encapsulation entraps bioactive compounds for their accurate target
release and increase the nutrient functionality. Nanoencapsulated size
would preserve/protect nutrients from unpredictable conditions, which
offers good homogeneity of biochemicals, distribution uniformity and
purity throughout the nutrient delivery (Ezhilarasi et al., 2013).
4.2. Major nanoencapsulation techniques of food bioactive constituents
To attain the techniques of nanoencapsulation, therefore, two ap­
proaches have to be considered: a) top-down, and b) bottom-up. Top-
down approach involves the precise and accurate tools with force to
attain reduction in size and shape. Here, the property of the produced
materials are highly influenced by the process of size reduction and
degree of control followed throughout the process. Techniques which
follow top-down approach include emulsification, emulsification-
solvent evaporation, electrospraying and electrospinning (Mishra
et al., 2010).Bottom-up approach involves when the materials get con­
structed by automatic/self organization and assembly of molecules by
C.G. Awuchi et al. Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088

with electrospraying, including hollow nanospheres (Jafari-Nodoushan

et al., 2015; Zhou et al., 2017), core–shell/multilayered nanospheres,
cell-shaped NPs, porous nanocarriers, microstructures, nanocups, etc.
(Wang et al., 2019).

4.2.2. Coacervation and electrospinning

Coacervation method of nanoencapsulation refers to a holding phase
separation of outer solution from the polyelectrolyte mixture with sub­
stantial deposition of newly formed coacervate phase around the
bioactive compound (McClements and Rao, 2011). The pH, ionic power,
type of biopolymer, relation between complex formed along with
polymer type and concentration are the factors responsible for the na­
ture of the formation of the complex (Anandharamakrishnan, 2014). An
illustration of the coacervation method is shown in Fig. 4. Bioactive and
polymer components come together, through emulsion, and by pH
Fig. 2. Basic set-up of electrospraying (Adapted from [Ali et al., 2018]).
change undergo coacervation, through subsequent processes, yield
bioactive, polymer 1 and 2. Coacervation method is not only the elec­
influencing factors like ionic strength, temperature, pH and concentra­ trostatic interactions that occur between the biopolymers of opposite
tion. Techniques which follow bottom-up approach are coacervation, charges, but also the hydrophobic interactions as well as hydrogen
inclusion complexation, supercritical fluid technique and nano­
precipitation (Mishra et al., 2010). Generally, techniques that follow
both top-down and bottom-up approaches include ultrasonication and
nanoencapsulation by spray drying and freeze drying. We concur the
following three points have to be noted, and will be succinctly discussed
subsequently: (a) Nanoencapsulation methods of emulsification, coac­
ervation and supercritical fluid technique are performed for hydrophilic
and lipophilic bioactive compounds (Chong et al., 2009; Leong et al.,
2009); (b) Nanoencapsulation technique of inclusion complexation,
emulsification solvent evaporation and nanoprecipitation are performed
for lipophilic bioactive compounds (Reis et al., 2006; Ezhilarasi et al.,
2013); and (c) Nanoencapsulation technique of electrospraying and
electrospinning are performed for hydrophilic compounds.

4.2.1. Electrospraying
Electrospraying is used to produce very tiny droplets of submicron
and nanoscale sizes using electric field (Khan et al., 2017). It employs
liquid atomization and can be used to formulate cargo nanocarriers of
NPs for several applications, such as nanoencapsulation, drug/nutrient
delivery, etc. (Wang et al., 2019). Electrospraying has some advantages
over other methods. It can be done at ambient conditions of pressure and
temperature. Also, because of the likely external medium absence,
which allows the migration and dissolution of water-soluble NPs, its
encapsulation efficiency is very high (Sosnik, 2014). In addition, elec­
trospraying can reproducibly offer nutrient-loaded nanoparticles
(average of 5 nm–500 nm) of narrow distribution of size (Wang et al.,
2019). Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate all most of the features about electro­
spraying, from the basic set-up, to the common modes of the process (Ali
et al., 2018). Nanocarriers in various nanostructures can be achieved Fig. 4. An illustration of the Coacervation method.

Fig. 3. Common modes of electrospraying process (Ali et al., 2018).

17
C.G. Awuchi et al. Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088

Fig. 5. An illustration of an Electrospinning device.

bonding, all of which also contribute substantially to the complex for­ Electrospinning is used to formulate nanofibers and other nano­
mation. Studies like those involving encapsulated capsaicin, as well as materials for various purposes. It is cost-effective, flexible, simple, and
protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) in chitosan where coacervation suitable for large-scale formulation (Masoud et al., 2020). In addition to
method were used (Ezhilarasi et al., 2013). being widely used for producing polymer nanofibers, electrospinning is

Fig. 6. The solvent displacement method, schematically representing the production of β-carotene nanodispersion (source: Ribeiro et al., 2008).

18
C.G. Awuchi et al.
also used for producing nanofibers from organic composite materials,
inorganic composite materials, metal oxides, ceramics, and metals
(Masoud et al., 2020). Able to handle nanofibers' diameter, electro­
spinning plays a significant role in the functional characteristics of
nanoformulations (Zhang et al., 2020). Electrospinning can produce
nanofibers in various forms, including core-shell, porous, and hollow
nanofibers. An illustration of electrospinning device is shown in Fig. 5.
Besides its effectiveness in producing sub-micron or nano-scale polymer
fibers, electrospinning provides merits over other production methods.
For example, it is relatively easy to use as well as cost-effective to pro­
duce nanofibers (Wen et al., 2017). Incorporating bioactive compounds
into nanofibers is not challenging. Another merit is the bioactive com­
pounds can be much smaller in size, which makes them easier to
incorporate into food systems. Another merit is heat during the elec­
trospinning process is absent (Wen et al., 2017).
4.2.3. Inclusion complexation and emulsification
Inclusion complexation refers to when supra-molecular association
of ligand (encapsulated ingredient) has been encapsulated into a cavity-
bearing substrate (shell material) through either hydrogen bonding, van
der Waals force, or an entropy-driven hydrophobic effect (Ezhilarasi
et al., 2013). Inclusion complexation technique mainly targets to
encapsulate volatile organic molecules (such as essential oils and vita­
mins) and poised it useful in masking flavors/ odors as well as to pre­
serve aromas(Ezhilarasi et al., 2013). Other workers have demonstrated
inclusion complexation methodology as primarily used in encapsulation
of unstable organic atoms, for example, essential oils to contain the
excruciating scent, flavor and fragrance. This kind of encapsulatin has
stability, control and conservation with wall materials. An appropriate
encapsulation of specific segments, for example, ß-lactogloglobulin and
ß-cyclodextrin might be conceivable through this procedure (Quinta­
nilla-Carvajal et al., 2010).
Nanoemulsions involve colloidal dispersions comprising two
immiscible liquids, where one is dispersed in the other, having droplet
sizes that range between 50 and 1000 nm(Ezhilarasi et al., 2013). The
application potential of emulsification technology in food processing is
high, able to encapsulate high concentration of bioactive food supple­
ments, wherein the nanoemulsions are utilised directly in either liquid
or dry state(Ezhilarasi et al., 2013). Nanoparticle formulation methods
use templates of nano-emulsion templates, which are being generated in
various ways. What brings nano-emulsion formulation processes and
nanoparticle morphology would neither be obvious nor systematic.
Anton et al. (2008) understood when they reviewed the design and
production of nanoparticles when formulated from nano-emulsion
templates. Nano-emulsion template employs a thorough description of
the mechanisms and phenomena that governs its formation, followed by
nanoparticle formulation processes with regard to the place of the nano-
emulsion generation methods.
When considering the principle of mixing two immiscible liquids, the
tiny droplets of the entire lipid would be unified in the aqueous phase,
which can subsequently be dispersed in the continuous phase. Being a
non-equilibrium system, the nanoemulsions do not form instantly (Sol­
ans and Solé, 2012). A modest quantity of energy is needed in simple
emulsification method. Low-energy emulsification methods give more
modest molecule size when contrasted with high-energy emulsification,
as it uses its own chemical energy in the system (Uluata et al., 2016).
Ezhilarasi et al. (2013) understood emulsification as a solvent evapo­
ration technique, that can employ polymers like poly (lactide) (PLA) and
poly (lactide-co-glicolide) (PLGA). Emulsification studies have involved
encapsulated curcumin in chitosan, curcumin-loaded PLGA nano­
spheres, coenzyme Q10-loaded nanoparticles, nanodispersion of astax­
anthin, nanoemulsions of β-carotene, as well as nanodispersion of
α-tocopherol. For emulsification to be successful, suitable emulsification
technique like high-pressure, high-speed and microfluidisation homog­
enization techniques are necessary.
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Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088
4.2.4. Nanoprecipitation and emulsification-solvent evaporation
Nanoprecipitation involves an emulsification technique where there
is an organic internal phase, which contains the dissolved organic sol­
vents, polymers and drugs into liquid external phase as well as
displacement of solvent. Specifically, the precipitation of polymer oc­
curs from an organic solution, followed by the diffusion of organic sol­
vent into an aqueous medium. Besides the precipitation of polymer from
an organic solution, Ezhilarasi et al. (2013) understood that the solvent
displacement can form both nanocapsules and nanospheres. These
workers showed that a number of studies have encapsulated products
like curcumin, either in PLGA with stabilizer PEG-5000, mono poly­
meric carrier made from ethyl cellulose and a dipolymeric carrier
(ECMC), and single-step nanoprecipitation method along with freeze
drying technique, as well as astaxanthin by solvent displacement, all of
which showed promising outcomes of encapsulation efficiencies. Quin­
tanilla-Carvajal et al. (2010) showed that a number of biodegradable
polymers have been applied like Eudragit, poly (alkylcyanoacrylate),
poly (lactide) (PLA), poly (lactide-co-glicolide) (PLGA),as well as poly­
caprolactone. Fig. 6 shows the solvent displacement method, schemat­
ically representing the production of β-carotene nanodispersion which
Ribeiro et al. (2008) depicted when they produced β-carotene that
loaded nanodispersions through encapsulating β-carotene into the PLA
and PLGA. This was done along with freeze drying technique. In addi­
tion to Gelatin and Tween 20 serving as the stabilizing hydrocolloids
specific to the continuous phase, these workers observed the droplet
diameter fell below 80 nm with increased stable dispersions. Moreover,
the modified solvent evaporation method involves an approach in which
emulsification of polymer solution into a liquid phase takes place and
there is production of nano-spheres as polymer precipitation due to the
evaporation of polymer solvent (Kumari et al., 2010). Moreover, capsule
size can be monitored by adjusting the temperature, stir rate, amount
and type of dispersing agent, viscosity of aqueous and organic phases
(He et al., 2018).
5. Conclusions
Nanoencapsulation of food bioactive constituents and its associated
processes has been revisited in this work. Nanoencapsulation revolu­
tionizing food, pharmaceutical, agricultural, medical, and nutraceutical
industries have enabled the controlled/targeted release of nutrients and
other biological compounds. Safety concerns for some of the nano­
materials used in food applications calls for proper measures and novel
techniques. More studies particularly on the improvement strategies
would definitely promote the nanoencapsulated food bioactive com­
pounds. Future reviews as well as analytical studies should determine
what the overall impacts of nanoencapsulation of the food bioactive
compounds would have on global environmental sustainability and the
economy.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
C.G.A., T.A.D., and S.M.; conceptualization; data curation; investi­
gation; writing – original draft; writing – review & editing; CORO and
MK coordination and supervision; writing – review & editing, all authors
have read and agreed to publish this version of the manuscript.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgement
Authors CORO and MK acknowledge financial support from Wrocław
University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland.
C.G. Awuchi et al. Bioresource Technology Reports 19 (2022) 101088

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