A Comprehensive Review of Food Hydrogels: Principles, Formation Mechanisms, Microstructure, and Its Applications

Pinku Chandra Nath, Shubhankar Debnath, Kandi Sridhar, Baskaran Stephen Inbaraj, Prakash Kumar Nayak, Minaxi Sharma

Research output: Journal PublicationReview articlepeer-review

30 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Food hydrogels are effective materials of great interest to scientists because they are safe and beneficial to the environment. Hydrogels are widely used in the food industry due to their three-dimensional crosslinked networks. They have also attracted a considerable amount of attention because they can be used in many different ways in the food industry, for example, as fat replacers, target delivery vehicles, encapsulating agents, etc. Gels—particularly proteins and polysaccharides—have attracted the attention of food scientists due to their excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, nutritional properties, and edibility. Thus, this review is focused on the nutritional importance, microstructure, mechanical characteristics, and food hydrogel applications of gels. This review also focuses on the structural configuration of hydrogels, which implies future potential applications in the food industry. The findings of this review confirm the application of different plant- and animal-based polysaccharide and protein sources as gelling agents. Gel network structure is improved by incorporating polysaccharides for encapsulation of bioactive compounds. Different hydrogel-based formulations are widely used for the encapsulation of bioactive compounds, food texture perception, risk monitoring, and food packaging applications.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1
JournalGels
Volume9
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2023
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • bioactive compounds
  • food applications
  • hydrogels
  • mechanical strength
  • microstructure

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Bioengineering
  • Biomaterials
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Polymers and Plastics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A Comprehensive Review of Food Hydrogels: Principles, Formation Mechanisms, Microstructure, and Its Applications'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this