Encapsulation Strategies for Lemon Essential Oil in Lipid-Based Food Systems: Recent Advances and Applications in Oxidative Stability

TL;DR

This review discusses how encapsulation improves the use of lemon essential oil in food by enhancing its stability and reducing its volatility.

Contribution

The paper provides a critical summary of recent advances in encapsulation strategies for lemon essential oil in lipid-based food systems.

Findings

Encapsulation improves the oxidative stability and controlled release of lemon essential oil in food systems.

Biopolymers and inorganic carriers like silica are effective for encapsulating LEO in lipid-based matrices.

Light margarine serves as a useful model system for evaluating encapsulation effectiveness in delaying lipid oxidation.

Abstract

Essential oils, particularly lemon essential oil (LEO), have attracted increasing interest as natural antimicrobial and antioxidant agents for food preservation. However, their direct incorporation into food systems is limited by high volatility, poor water solubility, oxidative instability, and potential sensory impacts. Encapsulation has emerged as an effective technological strategy to overcome these constraints by improving the stability and controlled release of LEO, especially in lipid-based food matrices such as margarine. This review critically summarizes recent advances (2020–2024) in the extraction, physicochemical characterization, and encapsulation of LEO, with particular emphasis on food-grade delivery systems, including biopolymers and inorganic carriers such as silica. Encapsulation efficiency, protection mechanisms, and release behavior are discussed in relation to oxidative stability and functional performance in real food applications. Special attention is devoted to light margarine as a model lipid system, highlighting the advantages and limitations of different encapsulation strategies in delaying lipid oxidation while preserving sensory quality. Finally, emerging challenges related to scalability, regulatory acceptance, and safety, together with future perspectives on smart food packaging and sustainable encapsulation technologies, are outlined to support the effective translation of LEO-based systems into industrial food applications.

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