Protein particle-based vehicles for encapsulation and delivery of nutrients: Fabrication, digestion, and release properties

Abstract The development of nutrient and bioactive delivery vehicles has become a burgeoning field with the worldwide growing demand for healthy foods and supplements. Food-grade protein particles have attracted significant attention for their great potentials in fabricating nutrient delivery vehicles. This review aims to summarize a wide range of food-grade protein particles used for the fabrication of nutrient delivery systems, with a particular focus on analyzing the digestion behaviors and nutrient release mechanisms using digestion models. The review of the current literature reveals that a variety of modification techniques exist to promote the formation of protein particles with desirable structures and physicochemical properties (particle size, surface charge, hydrophobicity, and interfacial wettability). Furthermore, nano/microparticles, hydrogels and Pickering emulsions have emerged as three main delivery vehicles based on food protein particles, and many studies have demonstrated their excellent ability to encapsulate and protect nutrients from degradation during storage and/or under exposure to light and heat. The digestion profile of these delivery systems and the release properties of nutrients are related to the composition, interfacial structure, and enzymatic responsiveness of the delivery system as well as the bulk environment. However, significant gap of knowledge still exists in the current understanding of these delivery systems at the biological interface. Future studies should focus on elucidating the digestion, the release of the encapsulated nutrients, and the intestinal absorption/transport using advanced simulated conditions and in in vivo models.