Microencapsulation of bioactive food ingredients and controlled release - A review

Abstract

Microencapsulation is a process of coat¬ing of small particles of solid or liquid material (core) with protective coating material (matrix) to produce microcapsules in the micrometer to millimeter range. It is one of the methods of protecting sensitive substances and producing active ingredients with improved properties. Many different active materials like lipids, proteins, vitamins and minerals, enzymes and flavors have been successfully encapsulated. To produce effective encapsulated products, the choice of coating material and method of microencapsulation process are most important and it also depends on the end use of the product and the processing conditions involved. These microcapsules release their contents at desired rate and time by different release mechanisms, depending on the encapsulated products which provide wide application of food ingredients thereby improving the cost effectiveness for the food manufacturer.This review paper highlighted the various microencapsulation methods and its application in the encapsulation of bioactive food ingredients and controlled release mechanisms.