Oils are very important substances in human nutrition. However, they are sensitive to oxygen, heat, moisture, and light. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the modification technology of oils. Methods that modify oil characteristics and make oils suitable applications have been increasingly studied. Nanotechnology has become one of the most promising studied technologies that could revolutionize conventional food science and the food industry. Oil nanoencapsulation could be a promising alternative to increase the stability and improve the bioavailability of nanoencapsulated compounds. The occurrence of oil nanoencapsulation has been rapidly increasing, especially in the food industry. Conventional nanoencapsulation technologies applied in different oils exert a direct impact on oil nanoparticle synthesis, influencing parameters such as zeta potential, size, and the polydispersity index; these characteristics might limit the use of oils in different industries. This review summarizes oil nanoencapsulation in the food industry and highlights the technologies, advantages, and limitations of different techniques for obtaining stable oil nanocapsules; it also illustrates key opportunities for and the benefits of technological innovations and analyzes the protection of this technology through patent applications. In the last 20 years, oil nanoencapsulation has grown considerably in the food industry. Although nanoencapsulated oil products are not currently found in the food industry, there are numerous articles in the food science area reporting that oil nanoencapsulation will be a market trend. Nevertheless, different areas can apply nanoencapsulated oils, as demonstrated via patent applications.

This study aimed to obtain encapsulated lycopene in a powder form, using either spray-drying or molecular inclusion with beta -cyclodextrin ( beta -CD) followed by freeze-drying. The encapsulation efficiency using spray-drying ranged from 94 to 96%, with an average yield of 51%, with microcapsules showing superficial indentations and lack of cracks and breakages. Lycopene- beta -CD complexes were only formed at a molar ratio of 1:4, and irregular structures of different sizes that eventually formed aggregates, similar to those of beta -CD, were observed after freeze-drying. About 50% of the initial lycopene did not form complexes with beta -CD. Lycopene purity increased from 96.4 to 98.1% after spray-drying, whereas lycopene purity decreased from 97.7 to 91.3% after complex formation and freeze-drying. Both the drying processes yielded pale-pink, dry, free-flowing powders.

Ionic liquids (IL) are innovative alternative solvents to recover bioactive compounds from plant-based sources to replace toxic volatile organic solvents (VOS). ILs are tailored-made solvents with chemical and thermal stabilities, nonvolatile and noninflammable. Although ILs are versatile, cost-effective, and sustainable solutions, the European Commission (EC) has no current regulation to approve extracts obtained with ILs to be applied in foods. Herein, this paper aims to assess the overview of ILs, regulamentation, applications, and its toxic effects, to be used as solvents for extract different bioactive compounds. Studies have suggested novel applications for ILs, such as 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate and others, to obtain bioactive compounds, for instance phenolic compounds, lignans, alkaloids, carotenoids, polysaccharides, using modern approaches as ultrasound and microwave-assisted extraction. New IL methods increase the efficiency of recovering target compounds and decrease the extraction time and VOS consumption regarding the traditional techniques. Furthermore, to promote the large-scale use of IL in foods, it is essential to investigate individually the toxicity of each IL used in the extraction processes, aiming to obtain a GRAS stamp, due to the currently lack of regulamentation.