Recent advances in the encapsulation of marine phenolic compounds

Phenolic compounds (PCs) are phytochemicals found in various plant species, including those of marine origin. PCs have considerable potential from a preventive and therapeutic point of view due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. Despite this, producing consistent bioactive phenolic extracts is difficult, limiting its commercial exploitation. These extracts are sensitive to environmental factors (temperature, light) and processing conditions (pH, interaction with other molecules, and thermal treatments). Therefore there is an increasing need to find ways to stabilize them using technologies that allow the protection from deterioration factors. The encapsulation of phenolic extracts represents a feasible and effective option to preserve their bioactivity. Encapsulation allows entrapping the PCs within a polymeric matrix, protecting the bioactive compounds and liberating them at given conditions. This way, the release of PCs at specific target sites can be regulated, increasing their bioavailability and bioaccessibility. For extracts of marine PCs, encapsulation also provides a barrier to odors and flavors that can be transferred to the application matrix, allowing a broader application in foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. Although encapsulation has been widely applied for different compounds, its application for marine bioactives is relatively recent. Given the scare information, the fresh water specie Spirulina platensis was included in this review with the aim to enlight potential applications, yet to be studied, assuming those results could be transferable to other marine species. In that sence, this chapter reviews the current literature regarding encapsulation of polyphenol-rich and antioxidant marine extracts.