Protection of folic acid through encapsulation in mesoporous silica particles included in fruit juices

- A smart delivery system to reduce folic acid over-fortification of juices is applied.
- Amine-gated silica solid controlled folic acid delivery and bioaccessibility in juice.
- Folic acid was protected during typical processing and storage due to encapsulation.
- The developed system offers huge possibilities for application in food industry.

Folic acid (FA) is a synthetic vitamin commonly used for food fortification. However, its vulnerability to processing and storage implies loss of efficiency, which would induce over-fortification by processors to obtain a minimum dose upon consumption. Recent studies have indicated potential adverse effects of FA overdoses, and FA protection during processing and storage could lead to more accurate fortification. In addition, sustained vitamin release after consumption would help improve its metabolism. The objective of this work was to study controlled FA delivery and stability in fruit juices to reduce potential over-fortification risks by using gated mesoporous silica particles (MSPs). The obtained results indicated that FA encapsulation in MSPs significantly improved its stability and contributed to controlled release after consumption by modifying vitamin bioaccessibility. These results confirmed the suitability of MSPs as support for controlled release and protection of bioactive molecules in food matrices in different food production and storage stages.