Prospects of polysaccharide aerogels as modern advanced food materials

•Aerogels are porous and lightweight materials with high surface area.•Polysaccharide aerogels are environmentally compatible materials and suitable for food applications.•Polysaccharides are used to form hydrogels, which are further processed into aerogels.•Properties of polysaccharide aerogels indicate potential as active packaging and reagent carriers.

Aerogels are porous and lightweight materials capable of active sorption and releasing desired compounds and/or bearing mechanical load. Using polysaccharides as aerogel matrices instead of silicate or synthetic polymers has additional benefits. Polysaccharides can be developed as bio-based, biodegradable, and/or edible materials in food applications. Polysaccharides that could be used to prepare aerogels include cellulose, hemicelluloses, marine polysaccharides, and starch, all of which have in common the ability to form gels either by themselves in the presence of water or with dications, other cross-linking agents, and/or other, blended, or mixed polysaccharides. After the liquid phase is removed, the dry aerogels form solid particles of various shapes and sizes that have high porosity and surface area. These characteristics indicate vast possibilities for the use of polysaccharide aerogels as advanced food materials.