Encapsulated natural antimicrobials: A promising way to reduce microbial growth in different food systems

The controversy of the chemical preservatives with serious health issues has shifted the food consumers and manufacturers towards the use of natural preservatives. Therefore, exploitation of natural antimicrobials, such as essential oils and bacteriocins etc., is necessary to protect against microbial growth and to prolong the self-life of food commodities. However, facile degradation of these bioactive compounds, along with their low water solubility and unacceptable taste, e.g. in the case of essential oils, pose a great challenge for the food industry. Encapsulation is an innovative and promising approach to overcome these challenges. It ameliorates the stability (physical, chemical, and thermal) of bioactive a compounds as well as provides controlled release and targeted delivery. This review provides valuable insights into the incorporation of encapsulated antimicrobial compounds in diverse range of food formulations, their influence on organoleptic characteristics of food; and their interactions with various components of the food matrix.