Recently, researchers from the Root and Tuber Crops Food Science and Technology Innovation Team, Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) reviewed stabilizers, spray-dried microencapsulation process and rehydration properties of food-grade Pickering emulsion microcapsules. This review was published in Trends in Food Science & Technology (IF: 15.1). The UCD-CAAS joint PhD program student Weihao Meng is the first author, while Prof. Hongnan Sun, Prof. Taihua Mu and Dr. Marco Garcia-Vaquero are the corresponding authors. This study was funded by the Science and Technology Innovation Project of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Multiple food-grade Pickering emulsions are currently being developed to protect bioactive compounds and ensure their efficient delivery. Moreover, microencapsulation of Pickering emulsions by spray-drying can extend their shelf life. Therefore, it is of great significance to elucidate the effects of microencapsulation on the properties, morphology and efficiency during spray-drying and rehydration of Pickering emulsions which could further expand their application.

This article focuses on the recent progress in the development of food-grade Pickering emulsions microcapsules, especially the generation of food-grade Pickering emulsions stabilized by natural compounds including polysaccharides, proteins, fat crystals, flavonoid particles, food-grade wax, agri-food by-products, and composites. This article also concludes the effects of multiple factors, such as spray-dryer equipment, operation parameters, addition of wall materials and other characteristics of the fresh emulsions on the final properties of the microcapsules and their rehydrated emulsions. Furthermore, this study also emphasizes future research directions in the field of Pickering emulsion microcapsules, including the development of emerging emulsion generation and spray-drying technologies, exploration of food-grade natural stabilizers with antioxidant properties, and further advances in elucidating the in vitro and in vivo bioavailability of spray-dried microcapsules and rehydrated emulsions.

Overall, this study provides comprehensive review on food-grade Pickering emulsion microcapsules and summarizes the future development trends of this sector, which would help to expand the industrial and commercial prospects of the microencapsulation of Pickering emulsions for functional food applications.

Link to the paper：https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2024.104610