Ascorbic Acid: Microencapsulation Techniques and Trends—A Review

Developments in nutritional sciences have increased the functional significance of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) as a food component in the human diet for health promotion and disease prevention. This has motivated food researchers to develop ascorbic acid–fortified food products to deliver appropriate levels of this vital food ingredient. Unfortunately, the highly unstable nature of ascorbic acid has posed technological challenges for its incorporation into different food systems. Microencapsulation is a promising approach to ensure the stability of ascorbic acid and to improve consumer acceptability towards the carrier food. The most commonly used techniques for ascorbic acid (water soluble) encapsulation, including spray drying, spray cooling, spray chilling, fluidized bed coating, liposomes, and extrusion, are reviewed and discussed with respect to technical hurdles and potential benefits.