Encapsulation of functional ingredients in lipidic nanocarriers and antimicrobial applications: a review

Global food demand and security are attracting stakeholders’ attention to food quality and safety. In particular, there is an urgent need for efficient techniques to preserve food for a long time. This can be done by encapsulation in nanocarriers such as nanoemulsions, nanoliposomes and nanolipid carriers. These nanocarriers protect functional ingredients such as polyphenols, vitamins, minerals, flavors and antimicrobial agents. Nanocarriers improve stability, functionality, entrapment efficiency and controlled-release of functional ingredients. Antimicrobial ingredients are among the most promising tools for food preservation. The nanoencapsulated form of antimicrobial agents showed an increase in surface area, passive transport and sustained release, which enhance the antimicrobial efficiency by comparison with the direct application of antimicrobial agents. Here, we review lipid-based nanocarriers, nanoencapsulation of functional ingredients, and food application of lipid-based nanocarriers as antimicrobial agents.