Milk protein based encapsulation of probiotics and other food material: comprehensive review

Encapsulation plays a vital role in the food industry, known for its multifunction constituents' preservation, covering undesirable food components (taste, color, flavor), nutritional and functional components incorporation, and under controlled conditions (time and rate) release of encapsulation ingredients. Milk proteins are highly demanding encapsulating material and are investigated at large scale to design encapsulating devices. Polyphenols, flavorings, fatty acids, minerals, and hydrophobic vitamins are within encapsulating bioactives. Milk protein is widely used in the microencapsulation (ME) of probiotics and in comparison to other biomaterials offers more benefits. Milk protein includes whey protein and casein and several techniques are developed to make use of them in the ME of multiple probiotic strains (Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus). This review will cover all the possible aspects of dairy proteins and their properties that enabled them to be used as encapsulating material. This review will also discuss the range of hydrophobic and hydrophilic components delivered from milk protein and their utilization in the formation of encapsulating agents. Overall, this study aimed to explore the emerging role of encapsulation in the food industry, characterize milk proteins as effective encapsulation agents, investigate their synergism with nondairy encapsulating materials, and evaluate various encapsulation techniques.