Combination of Nanodelivery Systems and Constituents Derived from Novel Foods: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Novel Food is a new category of food, regulated by the European Union Directive No. 2015/2283. This latter norm defines a food as "Novel" if it was not used "for human consumption to a significant degree within the Union before the date of entry into force of that regulation, namely 15 May 1997". Recently, Novel Foods have received increased interest from researchers worldwide. In this sense, the key areas of interest are the discovery of new benefits for human health and the exploitation of these novel sources of materials in new fields of application. An emerging area in the pharmaceutical and medicinal fields is nanotechnology, which deals with the development of new delivery systems at a nanometric scale. In this context, this review aims to summarize the recent advances on the design and characterization of nanodelivery systems based on materials belonging to the Novel Food list, as well as on nanoceutical products formulated for delivering compounds derived from Novel Foods. Additionally, the safety hazard of using nanoparticles in food products, i.e., food supplements, has been discussed in view of the current European regulation, which considers nanomaterials as Novel Foods.

Keywords: EFSA; health compounds; nanocarriers; nanoceuticals; nanoformulations; nanoparticles; nanotechnology; natural polymers; novel food.

Figure 1

Scheme of the authorization process of Novel Foods in Europe.

Figure 2

Novel foods as bioactive compounds or sources of materials for nanocarrier development.