FOOD SCIENCE ›› 2019, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (17): 317-324.doi: 10.7506/spkx1002-6630-20180917-182

• Reviews • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Recent Progress in the Application Shellac as a Natural Edible Wall Material in the Microencapsulation of Functional Ingredients

HUANG Xue, ZHANG Hui, PENG Shuyue, ZHAO Meng, FANG Yapeng   

  1. (1. Glyn O. Phillips Hydrocolloid Research Centre, Hubei International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Base of Food Hydrocolloids, School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China; 2. Hubei Collaborative Innovation Centre for Industrial Fermentation, Wuhan 430068, China)
  • Online:2019-09-15 Published:2019-09-23

Abstract: Shellac is an emerging wall material for the microencapsulation of functional ingredients, which is natural, non-toxic and biodegradable. It has special solubility (insoluble in neutral and acidic solutions, but soluble in alkaline solution), good film-forming ability and special thermal properties, which makes shellac an excellent material for acid resistance, moisture barrier and controlled release of functional ingredients in the intestine. This review first summarizes the chemical components and physiochemical properties of shellac. It then reviews the application of shellac in the microencapsulation of representative functional ingredients in the food and pharmaceutical industries including probiotics, vitamin, natural colorant, lipid, protein and drug, with focus on encapsulation techniques such as extrusion, emulsification, phase separation, electrospray and electrospinning. Finally, some directions for further studies of shellac and its encapsulation are presented.

Key words: shellac, functional ingredients, microencapsulation

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