Potential applications of lipid droplets from marine plants and microalgae in food and health

Lipid droplets serve as an essential storage energy, well known to exist in plants. Lipid droplets have been observed in seagrass, diatoms, and microalgae. The potential of lipid droplets as a food source derived from marine sources demonstrated a promising candidate for blue food sources for future applications. Moreover, there is limited information on droplet protein from marine plants, which is crucial for exploration in the food industry. We summarized the advantages of using lipid droplets and identified lipid droplets in marine plants and microalgae as alternative potential food sources for application in industry. The challenge and future direction of lipid droplet protein in the emerging food application and health benefits are discussed. The integral proteins play a crucial role in enhancing the rate of successful encapsulation and delivery. This strategy provides an interesting perspective for the implementation of lipid droplets in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Recent advances in hydrogel-based encapsulation matrices have further demonstrated the potential to stabilize lipid droplet structures within cellulose nanofiber networks and hydrocolloid scaffolds, broadening the functional scope of lipid droplet-based delivery systems.