Edible Fungal Polysaccharide–Liposome: Interfacial Interactions, Structure–Function Relationship, and Emerging Application in Oral Delivery and Functional Foods

Milk-derived extracellular vesicles: nutritional significance, nano-delivery potential, and emerging therapeutic applications - an updated review

Milk-derived extracellular-vesicles (mEVs) have emerged as a promising natural nanocarriers for nutraceutical and therapeutic applications, owing to their rich cargo of bioactive proteins, lipids, microRNAs, and metabolites, coupled with their inherent biocompatibility and stability. Their unique ability to withstand gastrointestinal degradation and cross biological barriers, such as blood-brain-barrier, while eliciting minimal immunogenicity provide a distinct advantage over synthetic delivery systems. Furthermore, mEVs can also be engineered or enriched with functional molecules, enabling the targeted delivery of nutraceuticals, chemotherapeutic agents, anti-inflammatory compounds, and gene regulators. Growing evidence demonstrates their capacity to modulate immune functions, support gut integrity, mitigate oxidative stress, regulate inflammatory processes, and influence systemic metabolic and neurophysiological pathways. However, their translational potential, key challenges, including scale isolation, optimize cargo loading, and comprehensive functional characterization, still limit their broader application. This review summarizes the biological properties, isolation strategies, and therapeutic prospects of mEVs, emphasizing their dual role as nutrition component and precision delivery platforms. Additionally, this review enhances our understanding regarding the beneficial application of milk-EVs as a natural, nontoxic and efficient nutraceutical carrier for next-generation nutraceutical and biomedical innovations.

Self-Assembled Ufasomes of Unsaturated Fatty Acids: Mechanisms, Characterization, and Drug Delivery Potential.

Ufasomes-vesicular systems formed from long-chain unsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid-have re-emerged as cost-effective, biocompatible alternatives to phospholipid liposomes. These bilayered assemblies self-organize at specific pH conditions and efficiently encapsulate both hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs. Their highly fluid membranes, attributed to cis-double-bond-induced structural disorder, enhance interaction with biological barriers, particularly the stratum corneum, making them valuable for topical and transdermal delivery.This review outlines the chemistry and self-assembly of ufasomes, followed by a critical appraisal of preparation techniques-including thin-film hydration and reverse-phase evaporation-and their influence on vesicle size, stability, and encapsulation efficiency. Advantages such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, and pH-responsive release are highlighted alongside limitations including pH-dependent instability and oxidative susceptibility. Key characterization approaches are summarized, and the therapeutic scope of ufasomes is examined, encompassing enhanced dermal delivery of antifungals and antidepressants, targeted cancer therapy, and improved oral bioavailability of nutraceuticals like oleuropein. The review concludes with emerging strategies to overcome current constraints and perspectives on advancing ufasomes toward clinical translation as versatile drug-delivery systems.

Protein-Polysaccharide Complexes as Delivery Systems for Quercetin: Mechanisms, Microstructure, and Applications in High-Protein Beverages

Quercetin is a dietary flavonol, which has been reported with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. In food application, its use is limited due to low aqueous solubility, susceptibility to thermal degradation and low bioavailability. To overcome these limitations, protein-polysaccharide complexes are a biocompatible, biodegradable and edible solution. This review summarises the available literature in this field but provides new information regarding the application of protein-polysaccharide complex to deliver quercetin in a new environment (high protein beverages) with physicochemical and sensory issues. Another significant contribution of this review is that it incorporates recent developments and highlights the need to translate molecular-level mechanisms of complex formation from bench research to food and nutrition innovation. Specifically, this review examines and systematically analyse the mechanisms for noncovalent complexation due to electrostatic, hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic interactions, as well as covalent interactions (Maillard reactions, carbodiimide cross-linking and enzymatic complexation) and correlate these interactions with advanced microstructural characterisation methods on a molecular level. Thereafter, the review discusses how these interactions affect measurable functional properties such as encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity, stability, and bioavailability enhancement. Moreover, it compares various delivery architectures like nanoemulsions, Pickering emulsions, HIPEs and stimuli-responsive hydrogels to both technical and sensory constraints of high-protein beverages and contrasts their behaviours, particularly when using whey protein, and other polysaccharides. Finally, a detailed discussion of the barriers to scale up, batch consistency, cost-effectiveness and regulatory aspects of the industry and a summary of the emerging research areas such as advanced cross linking, personalised and stimuli responsive systems, sustainable green processing and clinical translation. Overall, this review shows that protein-polysaccharide complexes have great importance at the functional ingredient delivery and commercial beverage formulation interface. Thus, it proposes an innovation strategy that advances both scientific understanding and practical application.

PLGA Encapsulated Ellagic Acid for Potential Food and Nutraceutical Applications: Synthesis, Characterization, In Vitro Digestion and Release Studies

Unlocking the opportunities and challenges of green strategies for bioavailability enhancement of polyphenols

Polyphenols are among the most versatile secondary metabolites of plants, with significant therapeutic potential, including anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, and antioxidant properties. However, limited bioavailability impedes their clinical application. These improvements have led to the use of synthetic stabilizers, toxic solvents, and high-energy inputs, raising concerns about the sustainability, scalability, and environmental impact of these techniques. The bioavailability of polyphenolic bioactives is an emerging area of interest, and green strategies have been developed to address it. Recently, a series of carrier-free delivery systems have also been developed, such as edible colloidal architectures, biopolymer nanoparticles, self-assembled nanostructures, and protein/polysaccharide conjugate nanocarriers, which can enhance solubility, stability, gastrointestinal performance, and release profiles. This review offers a critical analysis of approaches to improve polyphenol bioavailability, as well as recent developments in sustainable formulation design, physicochemical characterization, and translational considerations. This review critically examines the potential, limitations, and future research directions for developing safe, scalable, and environmentally friendly polyphenol delivery systems for therapeutic applications.

Chitosan-derived antibacterial and antifungal agents: a review of recent strategies for activity enhancement