A review on the use of cyclodextrins in foods

Cycloclextrins (CDs) are cyclic oligomers widely used in the food industry as food additives, for stabilization of flavours, for elimination of undesired tastes or other undesired compounds such as cholesterol and to avoid microbiological contaminations and browning reactions. In this review the characteristics of the most important CDs at industrial level (alpha-CD, beta-CD and gamma-CD) and their main properties from a technological point of view, such as solubility and their capability to form inclusion complexes are described. In addition, the present state-of-the-art on the use of these compounds in the food industry was reviewed. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.