Nanoparticle delivery systems of functional substances for precision nutrition.

Foodborne functional substances have received much attention for their functional benefits in health and disease. However, these substances are easily affected by the adverse environment during production, transportation, or storage. They will also be damaged by the gastric environment and limited by the mucosal barrier after entering the human body, thus affecting the bioavailability of functional substances in the body.

The bioavailability, metabolism and microbial modulation of curcumin-loaded nanodelivery systems.

Curcumin (Cur), the major bioactive component of turmeric (Curcuma longa) possesses many health benefits. However, low solubility, stability and bioavailability restricts its applications in food. Recently, nanocarriers such as complex coacervates, nanocapsules, liposomes, nanoparticles, nanomicelles, have been used as novel strategies to solve these problems.

The fortification of encapsulated soy isoflavones and texture modification of soy milk by α-lactalbumin nanotubes.

Nanocarriers can improve the dispersibility of hydrophobic bioactive compounds and potentially improve the texture of liquid food formulations. Here, nanotubes (NTs) with a high aspect ratio formed by self-assembly of peptides partially hydrolyzed from α-lactalbumin (α-lac) were used to deliver soy isoflavones (IFs) and modify soy milk texture. IFs encapsulated by nanotube (NT/IFs) via hydrophobic interactions, which had improved dispersibility, with a maximum loading efficiency of 4%.

The intracellular fate and transport mechanism of shape, size and rigidity varied nanocarriers for understanding their oral delivery efficiency.

Nanocarriers have become an effective strategy to overcome epithelial absorption barriers. During the absorption process, the endocytosis mechanisms, cell internalization pathways, and transport efficiency of nanocarriers are greatly impacted by their physical properties. To understand the relationship between physical properties of nanocarriers and their abilities overcoming multiple absorption barriers, nanocarriers with variable physical properties were prepared via self-assembly of hydrolyzed α-lactalbumin peptide fragments.