Nutrition-oriented applications of lysozyme amyloid fibrils: from safety evidence to translational potential

Amyloid fibrils were long framed by pathology (1–2) , yet lysozyme amyloid fibrils (LAFs) now show programmable structures with functional potential (3) . Evidence relevant to food and nutrition is growing—polyphenol protection and controlled release, mitigation of processing-related AGE formation (4–5) , and anthocyanin stabilization for freshness indication（6）—but findings remain scattered across materials, food, and biomedical outlets, with inconsistent safety readouts, heterogeneous formation conditions, and limited digestion-relevant appraisal. This review synthesizes recent evidence on LAF formation, safety, biodegradability, and emerging uses in nutrient delivery, functional hydrogels, pollutant adsorption, and biosensing, providing a nutrition-oriented framework for translating LAFs into next-generation food and health technologies. We searched the literature on LAFs in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, with additional forward citation checks in Google Scholar, including studies published up to 2025. Evidence was summarized regarding formation conditions, structural features, digestion and safety evaluations, and reported nutrition-related applications, drawing on in-vitro digestion studies, cell assays, and animal data where available. LAFs can be reproducibly formed into β-sheet–rich nanofibrils under controlled acidic/thermal, alkaline, ethanol, and ionic conditions. Digestive simulation, cell assays, and animal exposure studies indicate structural resilience in the gastric phase, progressive degradation in the intestinal phase, and negligible cytotoxicity or cross-seeding, supporting their safety for food use. From a nutritional perspective, LAF-based hydrogels and protein–polysaccharide complexes show high encapsulation efficiency and sustained release of polyphenols such as resveratrol and gallic acid, enhancing bioactive stability and potential intestinal bioavailability. LAF-containing systems have also been shown to reduce the formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) in protein-rich foods and adsorb dietary contaminants, while LAF–polysaccharide films can stabilize anthocyanins for visible freshness indication, highlighting applications in nutrient delivery, glycation risk modulation, intelligent packaging, and food safety improvement. Current evidence indicates that LAFs are structurally stable, digestively compatible, and exhibit minimal cytotoxicity, supporting their feasibility as safe protein-derived biomaterials. Their demonstrated ability to stabilize and sustain the release of dietary polyphenols and antioxidants, reduce glycation-related processing effects, and protect labile bioactives highlights potential nutritional relevance, including improved bioactive availability, modulation of dietary AGE exposure, and preservation of functional food quality. While these findings suggest promising opportunities for future application in specialized nutrition and food-health interfaces, further work is required to clarify in-vivo absorption and metabolic fate, establish standardized toxicological assessment, and define regulatory pathways. Addressing these steps will be essential to determine how LAFs may be effectively translated into nutrient delivery and functional nutrition systems.