Liposomes as Matrices to Hold Bioactive Compounds for Drinkable Foods: Their Ability to Improve Health and Future Prospects

The aim of this chapter is to describe the use of bioactive compounds with beneficial effects on human health beyond their basic nutritional value. Bioactive compounds like vitamin E, vitamin C, and fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6) have an important nutritional contribution and are related to the prevention of certain diseases with global impact such as cancer. However, the addition of vitamins in a food product is not easy: E is destroyed by UV-light, and C is dramatically reduced during heat processes. The use of liposomes as matrices to hold bioactive compounds appears to be a promising solution. Liposomes were made of natural soybean lecithin, which has a great nutritional importance, and more so combined with stearic acid or calcium stearate (CaS). Thus, this stabilize liposomes and contribute to the stability of bioactive compounds and to preserve their activity. The stability of bioactive compounds/liposomes incorporated into aqueous food must be demonstrated in properties such as oxidative tendency, morphology, size, and membrane packaging after heat treatment processes. But to make a product applicable at the commercial level, its texture and mouthfeel arising from the ingestion of drinkable foods are all-important to consumer’s choice and sensory acceptability must not undergo any modification