Bioactive compounds are substances that are more than food, more than nutrients that provide us with additional health benefits. These bioactive substances are found in nature or can be extracted to be incorporated into other foods and this defines a large part Functional food which have become a mega trend at the moment.
These compounds, which have been studied the most, have proven to be very useful antioxidants phenols, carotene, vitamins, brilliant vitamins, other antioxidants that are also well studied such as selenium and phytosterols, which is why food fever is becoming more and more relevant in functional food studies.
On the other hand, when we talk about bioactive compounds, it’s not all hunky dory, because they have problems. Some of them, not all, are hydrophobic, these hydrophobic bioactive compounds have low bioavailability simply because they are not soluble in the aqueous medium of intestinal gastric juices and are excreted in a very important way.
Ingredients or functional food
The turmeric It is counted among the functional ingredients, like all forms of curcumin. However, there are some complications with this ingredient as it cannot be absorbed when consumed as part of curries or dishes made from this tuber.
Others are sensitive to oxygen, temperature, light and the presence of ions. These ingredients are certainly more sensitive, as is the case with resveratrol. On the other hand, others have an unpleasant taste or smell that may not be compatible with the food you want to incorporate them into, making them difficult to handle.
Within webinar “Food as a carrier of lipophilic bioactive compounds”, Hugo Sergio García Galindo, researcher at National Technological Institute of Mexicofrom the Veracruz Institute, explained the following: “In recent decades, we have seen an exponential increase in the market for products with nanotechnology. This multidiscipline includes the design and fabrication of structures at the nanometric level.”
Application of nanotechnology in the food industry
Another way to look at it nanotechnology In the field of food, heat transfer, mass and reactions at the nanoscale, nano biotechnology, molecular synthesis can affect all these topics. Likewise, within nanotechnology you can find nano emulsions, transport systems, formulations and packaging, which also include nano.
“Selecting all possible aspects of nanotechnology and nanotechnology for application in food, it becomes not a simple task and lipid carriers“It’s not just about making an emulsion and that’s it, we’ll have to deal with the whole structure to be able to explain in detail what each nanoemulsion is and what it’s for,” continued García Galindo.
Galindo concluded by explaining the following: “To form a large emulsion, the emulsion must be composed of two invisible liquids. Generally in water, water and oil phase, but it is necessary to make the emulsion stable and we add a deadening agent. This defines bioavailability, but also facilitates biological activity, which defines its bioactivity. “Both, both properties depend on the size of the particle that contains our property.”
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