Microencapsulation is a process in which active substances are coated by extremely small capsules. It is a new technology that has been used in the cosmetics industry as well as in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical and food industries, being used in flavors, acids, oils, vitamins, microorganisms, among others. The success of this technology is due to the correct choice of the wall material, the core release form and the encapsulation method. Therefore, in this review, some relevant microencapsulation aspects, such as the capsule, wall material, core release forms, encapsulation methods and their use in food technology will be briefly discussed.

There is a current interest in healthy diets and supplements, indicating the relevance of novel delivery systems for plant extracts rich in bioactive compounds and probiotics. This simultaneous delivery system can be prospective for health. In this sense, investigating foods rich in bioactive compounds or supplemented by them for incorporating probiotics and some approaches to improve probiotic survivability, such as the choice of resistant probiotic strains or microencapsulation, is valuable. This review addresses a brief discussion about the role of phenolic compounds, chlorophyll and carotenoids from plants and probiotics in gut health, indicating the benefits of this association. Also, an overview of delivery systems used in recent studies is shown, considering their advantages for incorporation in food matrices. Delivery systems containing compounds recovered from plants can reduce probiotic oxidative stress, improving survivability. However, investigating the beneficial concentration of some bioactive compounds from plant extracts is relevant due to their antimicrobial potential. In addition, further clinical trials and toxicological studies of plant extracts are pertinent to ensure safety. Thus, the recovery of extracts from plants emerges as an alternative to providing multiple compounds with antioxidant potential, increasing the preservation of probiotics and allowing the fortification or enrichment of food matrices.