Encapsulation of bioactive peptides: a strategy to improve the stability, protect the nutraceutical bioactivity and support their food applications

In recent decades, bioactive peptides have become an emerging field of interest in the scientific community as well as the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries. A growing body of research indicates that consumption of bioactive peptides may play a vital role in health through their broad spectrum of bioactivity such as antioxidant, antihypertensive, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and anti-proliferative activities. In addition, bioactive peptides can be used as food preservatives due to their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. However, some factors limit their nutraceutical and commercial applications, including easy chemical degradation (e.g., pH, enzymatic), food matrix interaction, low water-solubility, hygroscopicity, and potential bitter taste. Bearing that in mind, the encapsulation of bioactive peptides in different materials can help overcome these challenges. Studies have demonstrated that encapsulation of bioactive peptides increases their bioactivity, improves their stability, sensory properties, increases solubility, and decreases hygroscopicity. However, there is limited scientific evidence about the bioavailability and food matrix interactions of encapsulated peptides. Besides, the diverse colloidal systems used to encapsulate bioactive peptides have shown stability and good encapsulation efficiency. This review provides an overview of current advances in the encapsulation of bioactive peptides, considering the technology, developments, and innovations in the last lustrum.

Automated summary

Bioactive peptides have broad bioactivity and play a vital role in health, but their application is limited due to factors such as easy degradation and interaction with food matrix. Encapsulation can improve the stability and solubility of bioactive peptides.