The utilization of biopolymer hydrogels to encapsulate and protect probiotics in foods

IF 3.7 3区生物学 Q2 BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Process Biochemistry Pub Date : 2025-03-17 DOI:10.1016/j.procbio.2025.03.008

Great Iruoghene Edo , Alice Njolke Mafe , Patrick Othuke Akpoghelie , Tayser Sumer Gaaz , Emad Yousif , Obadiah Saveni Yusuf , Endurance Fegor Isoje , Ufuoma Augustina Igbuku , Rapheal Ajiri Opiti , Jimoh Lawal Ayinla , Arthur Efeoghene Athan Essaghah , Dina S. Ahmed , Huzaifa Umar

{"title":"The utilization of biopolymer hydrogels to encapsulate and protect probiotics in foods","authors":"Great Iruoghene Edo , Alice Njolke Mafe , Patrick Othuke Akpoghelie , Tayser Sumer Gaaz , Emad Yousif , Obadiah Saveni Yusuf , Endurance Fegor Isoje , Ufuoma Augustina Igbuku , Rapheal Ajiri Opiti , Jimoh Lawal Ayinla , Arthur Efeoghene Athan Essaghah , Dina S. Ahmed , Huzaifa Umar","doi":"10.1016/j.procbio.2025.03.008","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biopolymer hydrogels have emerged as a transformative technology for enhancing the stability, delivery, and efficacy of probiotics in food systems. These hydrogels provide robust protection against environmental stressors such as pH fluctuations, temperature extremes, and moisture, ensuring probiotic survival during processing, storage, and digestion. Their versatility allows for seamless integration into a wide range of food matrices, including beverages, baked goods, and plant-based products, resolving the growing consumer demand for functional foods that promote gut health. This review explores the potential of biopolymer hydrogels in probiotic encapsulation, emphasizing their role in controlled release and targeted delivery within the gastrointestinal tract. Despite their advantages, hurdles remain in optimizing formulations, refining encapsulation techniques, and expanding their application to non-traditional food systems. Future research should focus on strain-specific hydrogel designs, innovative probiotic carriers, and advanced delivery mechanisms to maximize probiotic functionality. From an industrial and commercial perspective, continued advancements in hydrogel technology could revolutionize the functional food and nutraceutical industries. By improving probiotic stability and bioavailability, biopolymer hydrogels present a promising avenue for developing next-generation health-promoting foods. This review highlights the latest advancements in hydrogel technology and its applications, underscoring its potential to shape the future of functional foods and contribute to a more sustainable and health-conscious food industry.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20811,"journal":{"name":"Process Biochemistry","volume":"153 ","pages":"Pages 66-91"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Process Biochemistry","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S135951132500087X","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Biopolymer hydrogels have emerged as a transformative technology for enhancing the stability, delivery, and efficacy of probiotics in food systems. These hydrogels provide robust protection against environmental stressors such as pH fluctuations, temperature extremes, and moisture, ensuring probiotic survival during processing, storage, and digestion. Their versatility allows for seamless integration into a wide range of food matrices, including beverages, baked goods, and plant-based products, resolving the growing consumer demand for functional foods that promote gut health. This review explores the potential of biopolymer hydrogels in probiotic encapsulation, emphasizing their role in controlled release and targeted delivery within the gastrointestinal tract. Despite their advantages, hurdles remain in optimizing formulations, refining encapsulation techniques, and expanding their application to non-traditional food systems. Future research should focus on strain-specific hydrogel designs, innovative probiotic carriers, and advanced delivery mechanisms to maximize probiotic functionality. From an industrial and commercial perspective, continued advancements in hydrogel technology could revolutionize the functional food and nutraceutical industries. By improving probiotic stability and bioavailability, biopolymer hydrogels present a promising avenue for developing next-generation health-promoting foods. This review highlights the latest advancements in hydrogel technology and its applications, underscoring its potential to shape the future of functional foods and contribute to a more sustainable and health-conscious food industry.

查看原文本刊更多论文

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Process Biochemistry 生物-工程：化工

CiteScore

8.30

自引率

4.50%

发文量

374

审稿时长

53 days

期刊介绍： Process Biochemistry is an application-orientated research journal devoted to reporting advances with originality and novelty, in the science and technology of the processes involving bioactive molecules and living organisms. These processes concern the production of useful metabolites or materials, or the removal of toxic compounds using tools and methods of current biology and engineering. Its main areas of interest include novel bioprocesses and enabling technologies (such as nanobiotechnology, tissue engineering, directed evolution, metabolic engineering, systems biology, and synthetic biology) applicable in food (nutraceutical), healthcare (medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic), energy (biofuels), environmental, and biorefinery industries and their underlying biological and engineering principles.