Nano-Liposomes as Effective Vehicles of Antioxidant Compounds in Food and Health

The use of nano-liposomes has increased exponentially since their discovery in the 1960s, primarily for encapsulating medicines or compounds that can improve human health. However, recent studies propose nano-liposomes as vehicles to protect, transport, and subsequently release compounds of various kinds to fortify the properties of foods and cause a prolonged release of encapsulated substances in a specific part of the body. Among the compounds successfully encapsulated are β-carotene, α-carotene, vitamins A, C, and D, lycopene, among others. The encapsulation of extracts with high contents of antioxidant pigments is still to be explored. Therefore, this review aims to compile the compounds that have been successfully encapsulated and have met the specific prolonged release criteria, highlighting areas of research opportunity and application such as biomedical, pharmaceuticals and nutraceutical industries.