Abstract: Food bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols, carotenoids, functional proteins and unsaturated fatty acids, have been used as important ingredients of functional foods due to their diverse biological activities. However, the low aqueous solubility, poor stability and limited bioavailability of these compounds limit their applications in the food industry. The preparation of delivery carriers from natural food macromolecules offers a promising approach to enhance the solubility, stability, and bioavailability of bioactive compounds. As a novel delivery system, intelligent responsive delivery carriers enable precise targeted and controlled release of bioactive compounds, thus improving their bioavailability. In addition, the delivery carriers have the capacity to effectively improve the added nutritional value, enhance the sensory properties, and extend the shelf life of functional foods. This review summarizes the functional properties of food bioactive compounds, the challenges in their application and their steady-state delivery strategies, with a particular emphasis on the common intelligent responsive delivery carriers and their mechanisms of action. Finally, this article discusses the application of these delivery carriers in functional foods, and provides an outlook on future research on bioactive compound delivery systems.

Key words: food bioactive compounds; stabilization; delivery systems; targeted and controlled release; bioavailability; functional foods