Recent developments in nanoformulations of lipophilic functional foods

•Overview of recently developed nanoformulations for lipophilic nutraceuticals.•Improvement of water solubility, oral absorption, and bioavailability.•Advantages and disadvantages of each nanoformulation for bioactive compound.•Potential applications of diverse nanoformulations in food system.

Recently, nutraceuticals have great attention due to their excellent functional properties for health promotion and disease prevention. Especially, lipophilic materials could give various health benefits such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, and even anti-cancer effects. However, there are some limitations to apply them into food system and oral administration due to their poor water solubility, low oral absorption, and poor bioavailability which are pivotal issues to overcome for lipophilic nutraceuticals. In this review, various nanoformulations have been introduced with their advantages and disadvantages, including those that can enhance solubility and bioavailability of bioactive compounds.