Function of vitamin D3-loaded lipid-based nanocarriers in food industry: Principles, applications, and challenges

Background

Vitamin D₃ deficiency has become one of the major health concerns worldwide. More than one billion people around the globe are suffering from vitamin D₃ insufficient/deficiency. Fortification a broader range of food is an effective approach to enhance the vitamin D₃ intake. However, the fortification of vitamin D₃ in food formula is limited due to its low solubility, poor biostability, insufficient bioavailability and un-targeted release. These drawbacks can be overcome by lipid-based nanocarriers that capable of appropriated and targeted delivery of vitamin D₃ into foods.

Scope and approach

Herein, we summarized the sources of vitamin D₃, its roles and requirement amounts in human body. The methods, stability, and research status of vitamin D₃ in the fortification food are also introduced. In addition, various lipid-based nanocarriers and their characterization techniques for encapsulating vitamin D₃ have been comprehensively discussed.

Key findings and conclusions

This review has spotlighted the different lipid-based nanocarriers, their pros and cons, and potential future applications in encapsulating vitamin D₃ for food fortification. Lipid-based nanocarriers such as nanoemulsions, nanoliposomes, nanophytosomes, nanoniosomes, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) are good candidate technologies for encapsulation of vitamin D₃ with enhanced solubility, biostablity, and bioavailability. Nanocochleates, possessing lipid bilayers and clylindrical structure resembling cigars, represent a novel and promising lipid-based nanocarrier for entrapping vitamin D₃. However, systematic and in-depth investigations of vitamin D₃ encapsulation via nanocochleates are urgently required to explore the feasibility and mechanism of this technology.