Abstract:

With the identification of the intestinal flora and its health-enhancing functions, the nutritional and health status
of the colon have attracted considerable attention. The colonic flora could be regulated by a colon-specific delivery system
for food bioactive components through oral ingestion. In this way, the health of the colon can be protected. In this context,
the colon-specific delivery system for food bioactive components is the core technology for developing colonic functional
foods and providing nutritional support for the colon. This paper reviews the literature over the last decade concerning
the principles for constructing pH-dependent, time-dependent or bacteria-dependent colon-specific delivery systems for
food bioactive components such as probiotics, small hydrophobic and hydrophilic bioactive substances, and bioactive
macromolecules as well as their current applications. Furthermore, the current problems and future research directions of
colon-specific delivery system for food bioactive components are also discussed.

Key words: colon-specific, food-grade delivery systems, food bioactive components