Shiqi Bai, Siying Cheng, Fengguang Ma, Xiaorong Zhang, Jianan Huang, Zhonghua Liu, Bing Hu
The rising incidence of chronic diseases globally has drawn widespread attention to phytochemicals, which exert targeted preventive and alleviating effect by modulating gut microbiota; thus, a potential strategy for precision nutritional interventions is offered. However, many phytochemicals may exhibit relative instability during processing and gastrointestinal tract environments, resulting in low stability, bioaccessibility, and bioavailability. Although conventional encapsulation strategies showed certain potentials in encapsulation, protection, and delivery, they still face issues such as restricted loading capacity and fragile stability, hindering the achievement of high-dose delivery. In this context, inspired by the principle of self-assembly in nature, a transformative was approached: to induce the realization of self-assembly of small molecule phytochemicals from occasional to guaranteed via food protein amyloid-like fibrils as macromolecular templates. The key point of difference from conventional encapsulation methods is that the phytochemicals self-assembled through hierarchical structures, thereby increasing their loading and guaranteeing bioactive effects. These systems exhibit unique mechanical and stability advantages, such as shear-thinning behavior, reversibility, and high thermal stability, which distinguish them from conventional systems. This innovation not only enhances the delivery of phytochemicals but also holds significant potential for the development of advanced biomaterials and food systems in precision nutritional interventions.