Application of microencapsulation for the safe delivery of green tea polyphenols in food systems: Review and recent advances

Green tea has been associated with the prevention and reduction of a wide range of severe health conditions such as cancer, immune, and cardiovascular diseases. The health benefits associated with green tea consumption have been predominantly attributed to green tea polyphenols. The functional properties of green tea polyphenols are mainly anti-oxidative, antimutagenic, anticarcinogenic, anti-microbial, etc. These excellent properties have recently gained considerable attention in the food industry. However, their application is limited by their sensitivity to factors like temperature, light, pH, oxygen, etc. More, studies have reported the occurrence of unpleasant taste and color transfer during food processing. Lastly, the production of functional food requires to maintain the stability, bioactivity, and bioavailability of the active compounds. To tackle these obstacles, technological approaches like microencapsulation have been developed and applied for the formulation of green tea-enriched food products. The present review discusses the novelty in microencapsulation techniques for the safe delivery of green tea polyphenols in food matrices. After a literature on the green tea polyphenols composition, and their health attributes, the encapsulation methods and the coating materials are presented. The application of green tea encapsulates in food matrices as well as their effect on food functional and sensory properties are also discussed.