Reactants encapsulation and Maillard Reaction

In the last decades many efforts have been addressed to the control of Maillard Reaction products in different foods with the aim to promote the formation of compounds having the desired color and flavor and to reduce the concentration of several potential toxic molecules. Encapsulation, already applied in food industry for different purposes, can be used as a strategy to get the controlled release of some compounds promoting the Maillard Reaction development in order to mitigate the formation of some undesired compounds. In this review the underneath reaction mechanism, the activity of various reactants, the encapsulation strategies and some possible applications in food processing were discussed highlighting the potentialities of encapsulated ingredients in the modulation of Maillard Reaction. •Encapsulation is useful to develop foods with new sensorial and healthy features.•Encapsulation can mitigate the formation of some Maillard Reaction compounds.•Compounds circled in blue are affected by encapsulating those circled in red.