Dear Colleagues,

Contemporary lifestyles are responsible for the increased prevalence of several diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. This fact is leading to an increase in consumer demand for functional foods with proven health benefits. In this way, the incorporation of bioactive compounds (e.g., phenolic compounds, carotenoids, bioactive lipids, vitamins) into food systems is one of the most important strategies used by the food industry to meet consumer needs. However, most of these compounds are chemically sensitive to environmental stresses (e.g., heat, light, oxygen, enzymes), have poor water or oil solubility and display low bioavailability. To overcome these disadvantages, different delivery solutions have been developed, particularly involving gels. These soft materials are built up with a liquid phase entrapped within a 3D network, which can be a carrier for bioactive food ingredients. Gels can be designed in the water phase (hydrogels, emulsion gels, bigels) or oil phase (organogels, bigels) for the purpose of modulating their delivery performances. Hydrogels produced from proteins or polysaccharides are suitable for the delivery of hydrophilic ingredients. Organogels are produced by the self-assembly of gelator molecules in the oil phase, and they offer good carriers for lipophilic ingredients. Emulsion gels and bigels, containing both aqueous and oil phases, can deliver lipophilic and hydrophilic ingredients simultaneously. In addition, these structures can also be used as fat replacers to improve foods nutritional quality and meet the recommendations of lowering the intake of unhealthy fats. Thus, this Issue seeks to spotlight the application of gels in the food industry for food fortification or to act as fat replacers. 

Dr. Manuela Machado
Dr. Ana Maria Gomes
Dr. Eduardo M. Costa
Guest Editors

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• bioactive compounds
• functional foods
• bioavailability
• fat replacer