Nanoparticles mediated folic acid enrichment

• Published in: Food chemistry 2024-10, Vol.456, p.139964, Article 139964
• Main Authors: Mishra, Vineet Kumar, Rodriguez-Lecompte, Juan Carlos, Ahmed, Marya
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Folate; Gut absorption; Industrially relevant techniques; Nanofortification; Natural carriers
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139964

Folate is an essential component of many metabolic processes, and folate deficiency is known to cause various disorders. Folate and folic acid, a synthetic and chemically stable form of folate, enriched diet are typically used to overcome this deficiency. Folic acid and folate however, are susceptible to harsh environment and folates enrichment using nanoparticles is an intensively studied strategy in food industry. This review highlights the current methods and types of matrices utilized to develop folic acid/folate carrying nanoparticles. The folic acid/folate loaded nanoparticles prevent cargo degradation during gut absorption and under harsh food processing conditions including, high temperatures, UV light, and autoclaving. The data demonstrates that nanofortifcation of folates using proteins and biopolymers effectively enhances the bioavailability of the cargo. The encapsulation of folic acid in biopolymers by emulsion, spray drying and ionic gelation represent simplistic methods that can be easily scaled up with applications in food industry. [Display omitted] •Nanofortification enhanced folic acid bioavailability•Proteins and biopolymers are ideal matrix for folic acid enrichment•Spray drying, emulsion and gelation as simple scalable techniques for food industry•Combination of emulsions with spray drying yield monodisperse nanoparticles•Tetrahydrofolate stabilization by spray drying is useful for food applications