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Bioactive compounds that promote beneficial effects on human health, such as phytochemicals, are increasingly being consumed in the form of functional foods or nutraceuticals with the aim of promoting human well-being, health, and performance. However, often nutraceuticals do not show good efficacy in vivo due to their low water solubility, low oral bioavailability, degradation of the gastrointestinal tract, ease of oxidation, and poor absorption by the human body. This problem can often be overcome by nanoencapsulation of bioactive compounds into delivery systems based on biopolymeric nanoparticles. The nanoencapsulation of bioactive compounds can increase their bioavailability due to the size of particles containing these compounds, the availability of these bioactive compounds to the gastrointestinal tract, the ability to penetrate the mucus layer, and by making the compounds available for direct uptake by cells. Biopolymeric nanoparticles can be engineered to survive the gastrointestinal tract and then deliver the bioactive compounds at a certain point, maximizing their potential benefits for human health. In this chapter, bioavailability and delivery mechanisms of nutraceuticals in biopolymer-derived nanoparticles are described and discussed.

The objective of this study was to develop butter oil with added oregano and basil plant extracts at different concentrations (0.2%, 0.4% and 0.6%) and to evaluate the chemical, physical and sensory characteristics. butter oil samples with plant extracts obtained good purchase intention for all treatments, with the addition of 0.2% basil vegetable extract being preferred. For the minimum quality parameters, all samples were within the allowable legislation. The humidity values ranged from 0.010 to 0.044 g 100 g-1 and acidity from 0.035 to 0.082 g 100 g-1; the peroxide index was 0 g 100 g-1 and the ether extract was 99.86 g 100 g-1. Thirty fatty acids were identified in the butter oil by gas chromatography. It was concluded that the development of butter oil with the addition of oregano and basil plant extracts had good sensory acceptance, meeting the minimum quality parameters throughout the analysed useful life.

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate the yield, physico-chemical and microbiological parameters during the shelf life of the Minas Frescal cheese hand-manufactured by family farms. Design/methodology/approach In the milk, analyses of total bacterial counts, somatic cell counts and centesimal composition were performed. The milk coagulation was analyzed, with different curd times (40, 80 and 120 min), with respect to the proximate composition, pH, titratable acidity, yield and microbiological counts. The means were compared using the Tukey test with a significance level of 5 per cent. The most probable number of microorganisms were also determined in water. Findings The results for milk quality were within the requirements established in Normative Instruction 62, except for total dry extract. It was found that curd time did not influence the protein and fat in dry matter contents; however, the ash content in cheese of 40 min of curd time (2.8 g/100g) is significantly higher (p = 0.02) than the values found for the other curd times. The same behavior was observed for moisture content (p = 0.04). The parameters determining the cheese quality were outside the standards for human consumption, but this result is directly related to the water conditions, which were outside of potability levels. To meet the requirements established in the legislation, dairy products must follow strict standards of quality hygiene, both the raw material (water, milk) and their employees who act directly in the process. Originality/value For the preparation of the Minas Frescal cheese, it takes several steps, from obtaining the milk to the product ready to be consumed, so the importance of doing this monitoring and evaluating its quality.