The vegetal extracts are complex blends of chemical compounds from
various classes: polyphenols, carotenoids, vitamins, essential oils, etc. It is known that
these components are highly sensitive to the action of oxygen, light radiations and high
temperature. These factors contribute to the degradation of bioactive compounds and
implicitly to the decrease of their biological potential. Therefore, the encapsulation of
bioactive compounds in different matrices is required in order to prevent the
aforementioned shortcomings.
The purpose of this review is to synthesize the newest information about the
biocomponents’ encapsulation. The encapsulation of bioactive compounds, ensures the
stability of the volatile compounds during thermic processing, the protection of
bioactive components against environmental factors, the increase of the solubility of
bioactive compounds, the controlled release of bioactive components, etc. Various
techniques are used for the encapsulation of bioactive compounds, some of them being:
emulsification, coacervation, gelation, extrusion, spray drying, spray cooling, etc.
Keywords: Biopolymers, Coacervation, Emulsions, Encapsulation, Gelation,
Microparticles, Nanoparticles.