Post pH-driven encapsulation of polyphenols in next-generation foods: principles, formation and applications

Abstract

To meet the needs of a growing global population (∼10 billion by 2050), there is an urgent demand for sustainable, healthy, delicious, and affordable next-generation foods. Natural polyphenols, which are abundant in edible plants, have emerged as promising food additives due to their potential health benefits. However, incorporating polyphenols into food products presents various challenges, including issues related to crystallization, low water-solubility, limited bioavailability, and chemical instability. pH-driven or pH-shifting approaches have been proposed to incorporate polyphenols into the delivery systems. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether they can be generally used for the encapsulation of polyphenols into next-generation foods. Here, we highlight a post pH-driven (PPD) approach as a viable solution. The PPD approach inherits several advantages, such as simplicity, speed, and environmental friendliness, as it eliminates the need for heat, organic solvents, and complex equipment. Moreover, the PPD approach can be widely applied to different polyphenols and food systems, enhancing its versatility while also potentially contributing to reducing food waste. This review article aims to accelerate the implementation of the PPD approach in the development of polyphenol-fortified next-generation foods by providing a comprehensive understanding of its fundamental principles, encapsulation techniques, and potential applications in plant-based foods.

Graphic Abstract

The post pH-driven approach (PPD) is highlighted to encapsulate polyphenols from plants or food waste into colloidal dispersions, enabling the development of sustainable, healthy, and affordable novel foods and ingredients.

Highlights

1. Intrinsic structures and properties of polyphenols are introduced.

2. Fundamental principles of the PPD approach are emphasized.

3. Potential factors to affect the encapsulation efficiency of polyphenols are discussed.

4. It has many promising applications in creating polyphenols-fortified foods or ingredients.

Keywords:

• Food nutrition
• next-generation foods
• post pH-driven encapsulation
• polyphenols
• sustainability

Acknowledgment

The authors express their gratitude to Dr. David Julian McClements and Dr. Xiping Gong for their valuable discussions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work acknowledges the support of start-up funding from the Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of Georgia.