Plant-based cellulose nanomaterials for food products with lowered energy uptake and improved nutritional value-a review

Cellulose nanomaterials (CNMs) can be prepared from various plant sources that are by-products from agro-industrial processing, making them an interesting candidate to support sustainability in the food industry. Owing to their functional properties, CNMs can be practically used as a fat replacer to preserve the quality of several products while lowering the fat content, for which different major modes of action can be supposed for nanocrystalline celluloses (NCCs) and nanofibrillated celluloses (NFCs). CNMs can also exhibit a lipolysis retardation effect, thereby allowing their application in lowering the energy uptake from food. Furthermore, the surface activity of CNMs can be utilized to prepare functional foods by acting as an excipient for bioactive compounds. The characteristics of CNMs are affected by the raw material and preparation conditions, leading to dissimilar functional properties of the materials. This article discusses the application of CNMs for the development of healthy and functional food products. There are some challenges with using CNMs as functional ingredients in food production from both safety and technological aspects.