Protein/polysaccharide based oral delivery system for precise targeting of polyphenols and carotenoids

The potential health benefits of polyphenols and carotenoids have attracted considerable interest. However, practical applications are hindered by several issues, including low stability, low bioavailability, and poor targeting. Polysaccharide/protein-based materials with high safety and biocompatibility are frequently employed in developing various delivery systems to tackle these challenges. Remarkably, targeted delivery systems are designed to deliver bioactive substances to specific targets after oral administration, increasing the concentration of the bioactive substance enriched at the target site and enhancing the biological effect. This review presents an overview of the design strategies and influencing factors for oral targeted delivery. The review particularly emphasizes the development and applications of oral targeted delivery for polyphenols and carotenoids at the system, cell, and subcellular compartment levels. Furthermore, this review delves into the intricacies of dual-targeted and multi-targeted cascade delivery strategies. The objective is to present novel insights into the delivery of polyphenols and carotenoids and offer methods and ideas for developing functional foods.