Nanoencapsulation: A New Way of Using Herbs and Spices in Food and Its Related Products

Abstract

Research interests on the exploration of bioactive compounds especially for their use in the food processing have been significantly increasing. This phenomenon is due to their potential health benefits in addition to their conventional use as antioxidant and antimicrobial agent. A plenty of herbs and spices which was traditionally used for enhancing health or healing different kind of diseases is promising for uses in functional food formulations. However, using herb and spice in food formulation may have some drawbacks including alteration of the flavour of the food as well as its low bioavailability. To overcome these issues, nanoencapsulation is then developed by the scientists. This review discusses the recent updates of nanoencapsulation of herb and spice extracts. To give a deeper insight, the potential bioactive compounds contained in various herbs and spices are also covered in this review. At the end, the potential application of nanocapsules containing herb and spice extracts in food and its related products, including nutraceuticals and food packaging is given. This area of study may be interesting for the scientists to conduct researches for further development of the nanocapsules.