Microencapsulation of Natural Antioxidant Compounds Obtained from Biomass Wastes: A Review

Growing interest in biomass valorisation in recent years has led to an increasing research focusing on its high content in phytochemicals showing high potential health benefits related to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, among others. On the other hand, the demand for natural antioxidants in industry is continuously increasing to avoid the harmless character of some chemical additives and, also, to limit oxidation processes in the final material, such as in food and cosmetics; increasing consumer acceptance. However, the majority of them are usually sensitive to several factors such as oxygen, light, heat, enzymes, salts, and acid or alkali mediums which lead to losses of their activity and beneficial effects. As a consequence, microencapsulation technique has been proposed in last years as a way to enhance the stability, solubility and bioavailability of these compounds. In this chapter, phytochemical compounds classification followed by their main characteristics and properties are summarized. Also, microencapsulation techniques for phytochemicals are reviewed including processes for preparing microparticles, mainly focused on spray-drying method, for industry applications.