Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition

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Mucilages: sources, extraction methods, and

characteristics for their use as encapsulation
agents

Roji Waghmare, Preethi R, J. A. Moses & C. Anandharamakrishnan

To cite this article: Roji Waghmare, Preethi R, J. A. Moses & C. Anandharamakrishnan (2021):
Mucilages: sources, extraction methods, and characteristics for their use as encapsulation agents,
Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1873730

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CRITICAL REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION
https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2021.1873730

REVIEW

Mucilages: sources, extraction methods, and characteristics for their use as

encapsulation agents
Roji Waghmare , Preethi R , J. A. Moses , and C. Anandharamakrishnan
Computational Modeling and Nanoscale Processing Unit, Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), Ministry of Food Processing
Industries, Government of India, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
The increasing interest in the use of natural ingredients has driven keen research and commercial Bioactive compounds;
interest in the use of mucilages for a range of applications. Typically, mucilages are polysaccharide encapsulation; extraction;
hydrocolloids with distinct physicochemical and structural diversity, possessing characteristic func- mucilage;
polysaccharides; stability
tional and health benefits. Apart from their role as binding, thickening, stabilizing, and humidifying
agents, they are valued for their antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antioxidant, antiasthmatic, hypo-
glycemic, and hypolipidemic activities. The focus of this review is to present the range of muci-
lages that have been explored as encapsulating agents. Encapsulation of food ingredients,
nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical ingredients is an attractive technique to enhance the stability of
targeted compounds, apart from providing benefits on delivery characteristics. The most widely
adopted conventional and emerging extraction and purification methods are explained and sup-
plemented with information on the key criteria involved in characterizing the physicochemical and
functional properties of mucilages. The unique traits and benefits of using mucilages as encapsula-
tion agents are detailed with the different methods used by researchers to encapsulate different
food and bioactive compounds.

Introduction material. In this process, the stability of the bioactive com-

In recent years, the focus toward human health and well-
being is increasing, particularly with interventions through
dietary sources. In this context, the potential of the nutra-
ceuticals and functional foods market is significant. Foods
from various sources contain several bioactive compounds
like pigments, flavors, enzymes, and vitamins, most of which
are susceptible to degradation due to light, heat, and oxygen,
apart from a range of other stress conditions (Mahalakshmi
et al. 2020). Bioactive compounds are known to contribute
to physiological/cellular activities, thereby improving human
health. These also include phenolic compounds, flavonoids,
essential oils, and fatty acids, and insoluble vitamins (Leena,
Mahalakshmi, et al. 2020). The performance and health ben-
efits of bioactive compounds can be diminished during the
digestion process, as the conditions of the oral-gastro-intes-
tinal tract can disrupt the stability and hence the bioavail-
ability. This also justifies the need for encapsulation of
probiotics, particularly to retain cell viability until the tar-
geted site, to provide the desired activity (Yoha, Moses, and
Anandharamakrishnan 2020). Another concern is the poor
solubility of several bioactive compounds; these issues can
be addressed through the process of encapsulation.
Typically, encapsulation involves the protection of one or
more ingredients of interest through a core-wall complex or
by surrounding with a continuous network of the matrix
pound is improved, providing it the ability to withstand a
range of processing and storage conditions, apart from the
improved protection along the human digestive tract (Dutta,
Moses, and Anandharamakrishnan 2018b). This in turn
improves bioaccessibility and bioavailability of the nutrient/
nutraceutical ingredient (Leena, Antoniraj, et al. 2020).
Encapsulation is an effective approach for the targeted deliv-
ery of compounds, providing benefits in the release profiles
(Vishali et al. 2019). In the flavor industry, the process is
employed to mask undesired flavors/taste notes such as the
characteristic pungency and bitterness of polyphenols. This
can also be extended to a reduction in the development of
rancidity in oil powders (Lavanya et al. 2020). Accordingly,
the varied merits of encapsulation are well-established.
The selection of the wall or filler material for the encap-
sulation of the bioactive compound is a crucial step as it
affects the properties of the emulsion, retention of the
compound, and stability of the final product. Different
food-grade polymers have been explored for micro and
nanoencapsulation applications (Bharathi, Moses, and
Anandharamakrishnan 2018). These include carbohydrates
(maltodextrin, starch, cyclodextrin, agar, gum acacia, and
corn syrup), proteins (whey protein, soy protein, gelatin,
and sodium caseinate), and lipids. The encapsulation agent
can be single or double-layered and must essentially be able

CONTACT C. Anandharamakrishnan anandharamakrishnan@iifpt.edu.in Computational Modeling and Nanoscale Processing Unit, Indian Institute of Food
Processing Technology (IIFPT), Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India, Thanjavur – 613005, Tamil Nadu, India.
ß 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
2 R. WAGHMARE ET AL.
to form a cohesive film with the core material. Accordingly,
the selection of the material depends on its strength, stabil-
ity, impermeability, thickness, thermal coefficient of expan-
sion, modulus of elasticity, residual stress, adhesion strength,
ionic impurity content and, moisture absorption rate
(Mahfoudhi, Ksouri, and Hamdi 2016; Kang 2001).
Currently, mucilages have gained attention for their role as
dietary fiber, emulsifying agent, stabilizer agent, and drug
delivery excipients. Plant seed mucilages offer promising
application as an encapsulation material due to their hydro-
philic nature (Naji-Tabasi, Mohammad, and Razavi 2017;
Soukoulis, Gaiani, and Hoffmann 2018); they can be proc-
essed under high temperature owing to the high molecular
weight of heteropolysaccharides and also offer unique physi-
comechanical properties due to the high degree of polymer-
ization of fructan strands. Moreover, they exhibit a high
glass transition temperature, in addition to enhanced visco-
elasticity and polyelectrolytic properties (Ceja-Medina et al.
2020). Mucilages can also provide essential amino acids and
dietary fibers, bringing along various well-being benefits.
Plant mucilages as novel complexes show promising scope
in encapsulation and delivery of bioactive components to
the body (Koo et al. 2018).
In this review, recent research works on the encapsula-
tion of bioactive compounds using mucilages as encapsulat-
ing agents are the focus. This work also provides new
insights into their potential to replace synthetic alternatives.
Hence, the objective of this comprehensive review is to pro-
vide detailed information on the various sources of muci-
lages, extraction processes, and their characteristic chemistry
responsible for their unique properties. Importantly, the sig-
nificance of mucilages as encapsulation agents is explained
with key findings from recent studies.
Mucilages
Mucilages are plant-based polysaccharides that are widely
used for a range of industrial applications owing to their
unique characteristics. Carbohydrates are widely presented
as mono and polysaccharides. Polysaccharides are known to
be extremely valuable health-promoting natural products
(Pejin et al. 2019). These include their role as a thickening,
emulsifying, gelling, and stabilizing agents. These are attrib-
uted to their high solubility and ability to drastically increase
the viscosity of the medium, making them important addi-
tives to improve the texture of yogurt, jellies, and desserts.
They are known to rapid excellent swelling behavior in
water and can precipitate as an amorphous or granular mass
in the presence of alcohol. The biological activity of the pol-
ysaccharides depends on the chemical structure and type of
glycosidic linkages (Pejin et al. 2012). The presence of
hydroxyl groups in the mucilage improves its water holding
capacity, a key attribute for several applications in the food
and pharmaceutical industries. Polysaccharides present in
mucilages extracted from quince seed and cress seed are val-
ued for their foaming forming and stability behavior
(Felkai-Haddache et al. 2016; Chiang and Lai 2019). They
are also used for specific applications; for example, their role
in enhancing the shelf-life of baked products (Soukoulis,
Gaiani, and Hoffmann 2018), as suspending agents
(Prabhuswamy et al. 2019), and as a valuable source of diet-
ary fiber (Table 2).
For drug delivery applications, mucilages Asparagus race-
mosus and Cassia sophera have been used as a binding agent
for the preparation of capsules (Kulkarni et al. 2002).
Further, mucilages are also known to play a significant role
in extending the therapeutic effect of drugs through con-
trolled release by including these polymers in the drug-
loaded matrix. Specifically, hydrophilic mucilages have been
used for such applications (Chowdhury et al. 2017). Owing
to the presence of phenolic compounds and essential oils,
mucilages exhibit good antioxidant properties. For example,
yellow mustard mucilage is known to possess higher antioxi-
dant capacities as compared with polysaccharide counter-
parts like xanthan gum and citrus pectin (Wu et al. 2016).
Other reports have explained the antioxidant potential of
mucilages from okra (Gemede et al. 2018), Cordiamyxa
(Keshani-Dokht et al. 2018), Basellaalba (Das et al. 2017),
psyllium (Souza et al. 2020), chia (Mujtaba et al. 2019), and
hibiscus (Vignesh and Nair 2018).
Further, mucilages are known to possess antimicrobial
properties and can be used in food preservation applications.
For example, flaxseed mucilage with chitosan showed potent
activity against Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhimu-
rium, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli (Karami
et al. 2019). Similarly, mucilages from chia (Luo, Cao, et al.
2019), psyllium, basil, and Liepidium perfoliatum (Capitani
et al. 2016), okra (Mohammadi, Kamkar, and Misaghi 2018),
linseed (Trevi~no-Garza et al. 2019), quince seed (Shahbazi
and Moosavy 2019), and others, exhibit good antimicrobial
properties, apart fromtheir prospective role in anti-cancer,
anti-inflammatory, and wound healing applications
(Patterson 2016).
Occurrence
Plant-based polymers have a wide application range in
pharmaceutics, food, cosmetics, and paper industries, and
plant seed polysaccharides are commonly grouped into three
categories: (1) endosperm non-starch components; (2) muci-
laginous constituents of the seed coat; and (3) cell wall
material of the endosperm. These polymers include gums
and mucilages that are easily available and affordable.
Mucilages are very similar to gums except that mucilages
are physiological products of metabolism and get produced
without any injury to the plant. Mucilages are abundantly
found in nature, particularly in higher plants. They get
formed as an essential ingredient of the cell or as a portion
of plant cell walls, and contribute to the plant’s water and
food reserves, apart from helping in seed germination
(Malviya, Srivastava, and Kulkarni 2011). Gums can easily
disintegrate in water and mucilages from slimy masses
(Fahami and Fathi 2018). Further, mucilages are nontoxic,
environment-friendly, nonirritant, biocompatible, and have
good flexibility for chemical modifications. Typically, muci-
lages are polysaccharide hydrocolloids with sugar molecules
 CRITICAL REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION 3

Table 1. Structure and chemical composition of various mucilages.

Types of mucilages Structure Chemical composition References
Aloe vera Arabinan, arabinorhamnogalactan, Hamman (2008)
galactan, galactogalacturan,
glucogalactomannan,
galactoglucoarabinomannan, and
glucuronic acid containing
polysaccharides

Basil seed Xylose, rhamnose, arabinose and Samateh et al. (2018)

galacturonic acid (15:9:7:12)

Chia seed Xylose, glucose and glucuronic Samateh et al. (2018)

acid (2:1:1)

Okra Galactose (25%), rhamnose (22%), Kavousi, Fathi, and

galacturonic acid (27%), and amino Goli (2017)
acids (11%)

Yellow mustard Mixture of neutral polysaccharides; Izydorczyk, Cui, and

composed mainly of glucose, and an Wang (2005)
acidic polysaccharide containing
galacturonic and glucuronic acids,
galactose, and rhamnose residues
Tamarind Neutral xyloglucan (composed of a Nayak and Pal (2017);
b-(1,4)-d-glucan backbone with Shao et al. (2019)
a-(1,6)-d-xylose branches that are
partially substituted with b-(1,2)-
d-galactose)

Fenugreek Mannose, galactose, and xylose Amid and

Mirhosseini (2012)

linked to uronic acids. Accordingly, a mixture of sugars and Sources

uronic acids can be obtained after hydrolysis. As mucilages
consist of hydrophilic molecules, upon hydrolysis, they com-
bine with water and yield slimy solutions or gels.
Mucilages occur in almost all plants, several of which are
unutilized. Only a few mucilages have been approved by the
Food and Drug Administration and have been marketed; for
4 R. WAGHMARE ET AL.

Table 2. Properties of mucilages and their application as encapsulation agents.

Encapsulated
Mucilage Botanical name Properties Molecular weight compounds References
Aloe vera mucilage Barbadensis Miller
Solubility Enhancer 30–40 kDa Gallic acid Medina-Torres

Thickener et al. (2019)

Emulsifying
properties
Flaxseed mucilage Linum usitatissimum L.
Stabilizer 6000–10,000 kDa Lactobacillus acidophilus Bustamante et al. (2015)

Emulsifier La-05

Thickener Lactobacillus plantarum Bustamante et al. (2017)
and
Bifidobacterium
infantis
Flaxseed oil Hadad and Goli (2019)
Cress seed mucilage Lepidium sativum
Emulsification 540 kDa Fish oil Kavousi, Fathi, and

Stabilizer Goli (2017)

Foaming properties Curcumin Kavousi, Fathi, and
Goli (2018)
Vitamin D Jannasari et al. (2019)
Basil seed mucilage Ocimum basilicum L.
Emulsifier, 2300–6000 kDa Antibacterial Tantiwatcharothai and

Thickener wound dressing Prachayawarakorn

Gelling agent (2019)

Stabilizer
Cactus mucilage Opuntia ficus-indica
Emulsifying 2300–3000 kDa Betalains Gonzalez-Martınez
properties et al. (2017)

Natural super- Zeaxanthin de Campo et al. (2018)
plasticizer Betalain Delia et al. (2019)
Gallic acid Medina-Torres
et al. (2013)
Quince seed mucilage Cydonia oblonga Miller
High 9610 kDa Lactobacillus rhamnosus Dokoohaki,
water absorption Sekhavatizadeh, and

Emulsifier Hosseinzadeh (2019)

Fat replacer

Stabilizer

Preservative
Chia mucilage Salvia hispanica L.
Good source of fiber 800–2000 kDa Linseed oil da Silva Stefani

Excellent water and et al. (2019)
oil
retention capacity
Basella alba mucilage Basella alba L.
Thickener 1900–2400 kDa Chia seed oil de Campo et al. (2017)

Tablet binder

High viscosity
Mutamba seed mucilage Guazumaulmifolia Lam.
Emulsifier — Lemon essential oil Cortes-Camargo

Thickener et al. (2019)

Retains
volatile compounds
Ora-pro-nobis Pereskiaaculeata Miller
Emulsifying — Soybean oil Lago et al. (2019)

Stabilizing agent

example, mucilages of fenugreek seed (4% wt/wt), Lipedium
sativum (5%–15% wt/wt), and Hibiscus rosasinensis (6% wt/
wt) (Alam, Parvez, and Sharma 2014). The usage of several
other mucilages is still under lab-scale research. In line with
the focus of this article, several studies have explored the
potential of using mucilages for the formation of biopoly-
mers (Macıas-Cortes et al. 2019). This section explains key
aspects of different mucilages that have been extensively
used for various encapsulation applications. Further, a sum-
mary of their chemical composition, salient characteristics,
and examples of bioactive ingredients encapsulated using
these mucilages are presented in Tables 1 and 2.
Aloe vera mucilage
Aloe vera is a succulent plant with dense layers of gels. Aloe
vera juice contains 55.2 mg/100 mL of high molecular weight
polysaccharides such as acemannan and other pectic sub-
stances (Cervantes-Martınez et al. 2014). The plant is valued
for a range of therapeutic and cosmetic applications. Its
mucilage is present throughout the plant and possesses
unique compositional and structural features, making it a
good candidate for encapsulation applications, particularly
using spray drying. In a study conducted to compare the
effectiveness of the mucilage as an encapsulation agent for
gallic acid, Medina-Torres et al. (2019) observed defined and
undamaged particles, on par with formulations with malto-
dextrin. Another study has also reported the characterization
of flow thickening behavior of spray-dried reconstituted aloe
vera mucilage (Medina-Torres et al. 2016).
Flaxseed mucilage
Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) or linseed is an excellent
source of phenolic compounds, polyunsaturated fatty acids,
dietary fiber, and proteins (Bustamante et al. 2015). Flaxseed
mucilage is present in the hull which consists of four layers.
The mucilaginous carbohydrate is present in the outer layer
and is a combination of two polysaccharides: rhamnogalac-
turonan I and arabinoxylan. In this combination, arabinoxy-
lan is known to act as a prebiotic. The consumption of
flaxseed mucilage can help to decrease blood glucose and

cholesterol levels (Felkai-Haddache et al. 2016). Several stud-
ies have used flaxseed mucilage to encapsulate different bio-
active compounds. In a recent study conducted by Hadad
and Goli (2019), flaxseed oil (a rich source of alpha-linolenic
acid) was encapsulated with flaxseed mucilage in the form
of nanofibers. The oil was sufficiently captured inside the
mucilage nanofiber. The survival and viability of probiotic
microorganisms such as Lactobacillus acidophilus La-05,
Bifidobacterium infantis, and L. plantarum have also been
reported to improve when flaxseed mucilage was used in
combination with soluble proteins as the wall material
(Bustamante et al. 2015; Bustamante et al. 2017).
Cress seed mucilage
Garden cress seed (Lepidium sativum) belongs to the
Brassicaceae family. Cress seeds rapidly absorb water to
form a viscous mucilage. These seeds contain around
6.5%–15% mucilaginous materials (Naji and Razavi 2014).
This mucilage is composed of hydrocolloids that have found
several applications in the food industry. Cress seed muci-
lage is rich in two sugars: mannose (38.9%) and arabinose
(19.4%). The thermal stability of vitamin A (Fahami and
Fathi 2018) and vitamin D (Jannasari et al. 2019) was
improved significantly by using cress seed mucilage as the
encapsulating wall material. Also, the mucilage was used to
encapsulate curcumin through electrostatic interactions
between the mucilage and sodium caseinate that were used
as the structuring material (Kavousi, Fathi, and Goli 2018).
Basil seed mucilage
Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) belongs to the Lamiaceae fam-
ily and produces tiny black colored ellipsoidal seeds. The
plant is valued for many therapeutic applications and is
used in the treatment of headaches, cough, diarrhea, worms,
and skin infections (Nahak, Mishra, and Sahu 2011). A
study has also reported its usage with zinc oxide nanopar-
ticles for the development of antibacterial wound dressings
(Tantiwatcharothai and Prachayawarakorn 2019). The muci-
lage is present in the outer pericarp of the seed and consists
of starch, sugar, hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin (Naji-
Tabasi, Mohammad, and Razavi 2017). These include
glucomannan (43%) and xylan (24.29%), apart from other
minor components, including glucan (2.31%). Richin
hydroxyl groups, basil seed mucilage exhibits remarkable
water holding capacity and forms a mucilaginous cluster.
The mucilage has been widely used for emulsification, foam-
ing, thickening, gelling, and stabilizing applications in food
systems (Naji-Tabasi, Mohammad, and Razavi 2017), apart
from applications involving the encapsulation of nutraceut-
ical ingredients.
Cactus mucilage
Cactus (Opuntia sps.) is a good source of mucilage that is
dispersed along its cladodes and fruits (Ondarza 2016).
Cactus mucilage has several applications in the food, cos-
metics, and pharmaceutical industries. It is a viable replacer
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION 5
to several synthetic ingredients that can increase the water
holding capacity and emulsifying behavior. The mucilage is
a complex mixture of various polysaccharides such as L-ara-
binose (24.6%–42%), D-galactose (21%–40.1%), D-xylose
(22%–22.2%), L-rhamnose (7%–13.1%), and D-galacturonic
acid (8%–12.7%) (Otalora et al. 2015). The mucilage from
cactus has been used for both micro and nanoencapsulation
applications. For example, smooth spherical microparticles
of betalain rich extracts of Escontria chiotilla and
Stenocereus queretaroensis fruits could be prepared effect-
ively using cactus mucilage (Kavousi, Fathi, and Goli 2018;
Nahak, Mishra, and Sahu 2011).
Quince seed mucilage
Quince (Cydonia oblonga) belongs to the Rosaceae family
and produces yellow-colored pome fruits. This fruit carries 5
carpels and every carpel possesses 6–15 seeds arranged in
two rows. These seeds are reddish-brown and have a slightly
bitter taste. Seeds stick to each other by the covering cori-
aceous coat and the mucilaginous epithelium (Abbastabar
et al. 2015). Quince seed mucilage contains water-soluble
cellulose and b-1,4-D-xylan as major polysaccharides
(Lindberg et al. 1990). Upon soaking in water, seeds absorb
water rapidly and produce the sticky mucilaginous fluid.
This mucilage is easily available at low production costs and
has applications in emulsification, stabilization, and preser-
vation of foods (Kirtil and Oztop 2016). In the context of
encapsulation, it has been reported that the thickness of the
mucilage influences the micromechanical properties of the
microencapsulated particles (Dokoohaki, Sekhavatizadeh,
and Hosseinzadeh 2019). A study has explained the micro-
encapsulation of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (ATCC 53103)
with quince seed mucilage as wall material, showing
enhanced survival rates during heat processing (Nahak,
Mishra, and Sahu 2011).
Chia seed mucilage
Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) is an herbaceous plant from the
Lamiaceae family. Chia seeds are known for several health
benefits and are regarded as a functional food. Regular con-
sumption of chia seeds can reduce the risk of cardiovascular
diseases, inflammation, and disorders of the nervous system.
It can also help to reduce blood cholesterol and triglyceride
levels. Chia seeds are consumed as whole seeds, flour, seed
oil, and mucilage. These tiny seeds have also been used in
bars, breakfast cereals, and cookies to enhance their nutri-
tional value (Chiang and Lai 2019; Prabhuswamy et al.
2019). This mucilage contains high amounts of protein that
contribute to its emulsifying properties. The carbohydrates
and fiber components facilitate gel formation and help in
encapsulation (Kulkarni et al. 2002; Prabhuswamy et al.
2019). Chia seed mucilage has good oil and water holding
properties; these are beneficial for the retention of oil and
water-based bioactive compounds. Further, the excellent
film-forming nature of chia seed mucilage makes it a very
effective encapsulation agent. Essential oils such as chia seed
oil (de Campo et al. 2017), lemon essential oil (Cortes-
6 R. WAGHMARE ET AL.
Camargo et al. 2019) and linseed oil (da Silva Stefani et al.
2019) have been encapsulated using chia seed mucilage, and
results indicated improved solubility and stability against
oxidative degradation.
Others
Basellaalba, commonly called spinach, is a heat-tolerant and
fast-growing perennial vine. Considering the presence of
complex polysaccharides, its mucilage was used to encapsu-
late hydrophobic antioxidants such as curcumin and two
synthetic analogs of antioxidant flavones, 40 -N,N-dimethyla-
mino-3-hydroxyflavone and 30 ,40 -5 methylenedioxy-3-
hydroxyflavone. The encapsulated antioxidants showed high
pH and photo-stability (Das et al. 2017). To improve the
stability of chia seed oil against lipid oxidation, Salvia his-
panica mucilage was used in combination with alginate. The
mucilage helped in suppressing off-flavors and in improving
the stability and bioavailability of the vegetable oil rich in
omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (Us-Medina et al.
2017). In another study, mucilage from a perennial water
plant, Brasenia schreberi, regarded as an invasive aquatic
weed was used. The mucilage was extracted from the leaves
and is rich in soluble fiber with excellent antibacterial and
anti-algal properties, apart from its lubricating behavior. The
role of this extract in improving the disintegration property
and flowability was detailed (Luo, Cao, et al. 2019).
Similarly, yellow mustard mucilage was used as a substitute
to xanthan gum considering its rheological and suspending
behavior. The mucilage is also valued for its potent antioxi-
dant and anti-diabetic properties (Wu et al. 2016). Also,
Ziziphus mauritiana mucilage is a good source of dietary
fiber and exhibits properties similar to xanthan gum, show-
ing good binding, water holding and swelling capacities
attributes that are of huge commercial interest
(Sangeethapriya and Siddhuraju 2014).
To conclude, it is evident that there are several mucilages
available and have been already explored in different encap-
sulation applications. It is important to note that gums can
be obtained in their pure form from a plant, but mucilages
are constituents of seeds, bark, roots, etc., and require subse-
quent extraction and purification processes. For this reason,
before explaining the performance of mucilages as wall
materials, an overview of the different conventional and
emerging methods for their extraction is reported, particu-
larly because the method adopted has implications on the
yield and purity of mucilages.
Extraction and purification
As plant seed mucilages are highly hydrophilic, they can be
extracted by soaking the plant-part in water. The rate of
extraction can be increased by providing gentle shaking dur-
ing the soaking process. Using such approaches, around 3%
to 35% of mucilages can be extracted from plant seeds and
the extraction yield depends on extraction conditions (pH,
temperature, duration), seed characteristics (genotype,
morphology, mucilage composition, and arrangement), and
extracting solvent (nature, ratio) (Soukoulis, Gaiani, and
Hoffmann 2018). Each plant source exhibits individuality in
the architecture of mucilage arrangement (Figure 1). To
enhance the extraction yield of mucilage, various physical,
chemical, and enzymatic treatments have been explored. The
yield and the quality of the extracted mucilage depend on
the method of extraction and its conditions.
Conventional techniques
Solvent treatment. A typical aqueous process involves the
extraction of the mucilage from the dry part of the plant or
seed using hot distilled water. This process occurs under
continuous stirring or shaking. The solution is then filtered,
and this stage may be repeated several times. Then, the
mucilage is precipitated by adding alcohol to the filtrate.
The precipitated mucilage is dried in an oven or via freeze-
drying to obtain the final mucilage powder (Chowdhury
et al. 2017). However, the natural occurrence of the muci-
lage can by itself be a limiting factor, demanding additional
unit operations. Mesquite seeds contain mannose/galactose
between the ratio of 2:1 and 4:1. Their tough seed pods
restrict the effective extraction of the mucilage. So, mechan-
ical processes such as crushing and hulling require to be
applied; to overcome such requirements, an alkali/acid treat-
ment at different temperatures was found to be effective.
Solvent treatments are by far the most widely adopted
extraction method. In a study conducted by Nazir, Wani,
and Masoodi (2017) the effect of extraction parameters such
as temperature, time, and water-to-seed ratio on the extrac-
tion yield of aqueous extract of basil seed mucilage was
found to be significant. In this study, the water-to-seed ratio
was the most influencing factor of yield, followed by tem-
perature and extraction time. The process was optimized
using a central composite rotatable design and the optimized
temperature, extraction time, and water-to-seed ratio were
reported to be 56.7  C, 1.6 h, and 66.84:1, respectively. The
extraction yield of aqueous basil seed mucilage was found to
range from 7.86 to 20.5 g/100 g (Nazir, Wani, and Masoodi
2017). It was also explained that temperature had the most
pronounced effect on the extraction yield of chia mucilage,
followed by the seed-to-water ratio (Orifici et al. 2018).
Hence, optimizing the operating conditions of an extraction
process is crucial to obtain the maximum yield. These con-
ditions also have implications for the purity of the extracted
mucilage. In their study, (Estevez et al. 2004) reported a
high yield (24.9%) upon alkaline extraction, also preserving
the viscosity and foaming property of the polysaccharide.
Intricacies of the chemical composition of the mucilage can
be another challenge. For example, chia mucilage is a poly-
saccharide with b-D-xylose, a-D-glucose, and 4-O-methyl-
a-D-glucuronide, making it a complex structure, demanding
ethanoic pretreatments and the use of chemical non-polar
solvents such as hexane for the extraction process (Castej on,
Luna, and Se~ norans 2017). Supercritical fluids have also
been used for other extraction applications (Sethupathy
et al. 2019); nevertheless, the need is to shift to greener
alternatives.
 CRITICAL REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION 7

Figure 1. SEM images of the spatial architecture of different mucilages: (A–C) Arobidopsis thaliana, (D–F) Lepidium sativum, (G–J) Ocimum basilicum, (K–M) Salvia
sclarea, (N–P) Artemisia annuaand (Q–S) Artemisia leucodes (Medina-Torres et al. 2013). Hydrated chia seed: (T) whole chia seed hydrated and dried, (U–W) hex-
~oz et al. 2012).
agonal-like the structure on the surface of the mucilage (Mun
8 R. WAGHMARE ET AL.
Agitation and centrifugation. In some cases, agitation is a
relatively simpler method for mucilage separation. For
example, Ocimum americanum is an herbal plant having
seeds inside jelly-like substances that form a thin layer upon
drying. When the seeds come in contact with water, the
mucilage absorbs water and can be separated using agitation
(against the use of solvent treatments). In a study conducted
by (Lakshmanaraj, Radhakrishnan, and Subramanian 2014),
the seeds were subjected to agitation at different speeds
(ranging from 200 to 4000 rpm) and period. The method
was optimized at 2000 rpm for 50 minutes for maximal
mucilage yield. Recently, de Campo et al. (2017) reported
the extraction of chia seed mucilage using centrifugation (de
Campo et al. 2017). Chia seeds were soaked in distilled
water for around 2 hr with continuous stirring of the solu-
tion. Then, the suspended mucilage was removed using cen-
trifugation. The mucilage adhering to the seeds was
detached using a vacuum pump and the suspended tiny par-
ticles were removed using a cheesecloth via filtration. The
obtained filtered solution was dried in an oven to obtain
chia seed mucilage powder. A similar procedure was used
for the extraction of mucilage from cress seeds (Allafchian,
Mousavi, and Hosseini 2019). In this process, the pH of the
water was adjusted to10 with NaOH 0.1 M. After soaking,
stirring, and separation the mucilage, the solution was dried
and ground to obtain a powder. During the extraction of
quince seed mucilage, 0.02% sodium azide was added to the
deionized water as an antimicrobial agent and further
extraction was carried out (Ghadermazi, Khosrowshahi Asl,
and Tamjidi 2019).
Emerging techniques
Ultrasonication. Ultrasound treatment is a non-thermal pro-
cess with numerous applications in the food industry, par-
ticularly for extraction. Low-frequency ultrasound has been
used for the extraction of mucilages by disrupting the bio-
logical cell wall through the creation of pores. The process is
termed cavitation and these pores help in better penetration
of solvents, thereby improve detachment and yield.
Separation of mucilage from quince seeds was achieved by
subjecting the seeds to ultrasound-assisted extraction and
the yield varied from 7.02% to 16.29% due to variations in
extraction conditions. This study reported the optimized
condition for separation of mucilage as about 7.68 minutes
of extraction time at 38  C with pH 6.35, showing a max-
imum mucilage yield of 14.09% (Dehghan et al. 2017).
Similarly, chia seeds mucilage contains omega-3 fatty acids
and high soluble fibers. To extract the oil, the mucilage was
extracted using an ultrasonic probe treatment for 3 min at
50  C with pressurized polar solvents (Castejon, Luna, and
Se~norans 2017). The extraction of mucilage from
Arabidopsis seed coat is a challenging process owing to the
presence of two-layers of mucilages. Though the outer layer
can be removed through shaking, the inner adhesive layer
that is composed of rhamnogalacturonan I is tough to separ-
ate. Though various chemical treatments were explored,
ultrasound treatment of 20 sec showed the best results
(Zhao, Qiao, et al. 2017). Similarly, in another study,
ultrasound-assisted extraction was applied to flaxseeds to
extract the mucilage. Apart from the extraction, the treat-
ment could significantly lower anti-nutritional components
like tannins (Akhtar et al. 2019).
Microwave treatment. Microwave treatment is an emerging
thermal processing method that has been used for the
extraction of mucilages from various plant and seed sources
(Choudhary and Pawar 2014). The mucilage present in
Opuntia ficusindica L. Miller is a hetero-o-polysaccharide of
high molecular weight, making up to 14% of the dry weight.
Conventional methods of extraction using aqueous treat-
ments involve the effect of temperature, pH, and solvent, in
turn changing the structural, functional, and nutritional
value of mucilages (Loretta et al. 2019). For example,
through studies on Lepidium perfoliatum seed mucilage, it
has been well documented that conventional hot water
extraction processes result in the loss of heat liable com-
pounds. To overcome this drawback, microwave-assisted
extraction was applied with an extraction time of 120 to
180 s at 300 to 400 W, proving high mucilage yield (Han
et al. 2016). Upon increasing the power level to 400 W, the
treatment time was reduced, with a drastic reduction in
mucilage yield. Conventionally, applying hot water extrac-
tion with a long extraction time is known to be cost-effect-
ive, but may hamper the quality of the mucilage.
Microwave-assisted extraction is a potential alternative tech-
nique providing advantages in terms of time reduction,
reduced solvent consumption, and improved extraction effi-
ciency. For example, in a study on polysaccharide extracts of
jujube that are known to be rich in antioxidants, the micro-
wave extraction technique was used to achieve the highest
qualitative and quantitative yield (Rostami, Mohammad, and
Gharibzahedi 2016). An attempt was made to use micro-
wave-assisted extraction for the extraction of mucilage from
Opuntiaficusindica reporting a yield of 83% (Loretta et al.
2019). Similarly, used microwave extraction for ficus seed,
reporting a 25% increase in yield as compared with conven-
tional methods (Felkai-Haddache et al. 2016).
Enzymatic treatment. Enzymes have a wide range of appli-
cations in the food industry. An enzyme-assisted extraction
is an eco-friendly approach with high specificity. Enzymes
have been used for the extraction of polysaccharides from
the leaves of Asplenium australasicum (J. Sm.) The muci-
lages were extracted using endo-1,4-b-xylanase and/or b-glu-
canase and results confirmed high yield as well as improved
physicochemical properties (Chiang and Lai 2019). An inter-
esting study on waste utilization of Chinese yam, a tuber
with potential medicinal value was reported. During indus-
trial processing, waste generated from yam drying was
obtained and the mucilage present in it was extracted. The
mucilage of yam is regarded as a functional food. Enzymatic
hydrolysis was applied for the reduction of molecular weight
and various enzymes such as protease, a-amylase, manna-
nase, galactanase, xylanase, arabinase, and rhamnase were
experimented with using the optimized process. During pro-
tease hydrolysis, the content of mannose was found to

drastically reduce from 62.52% to 3.96%. Enzymatic treat-
ment can effectively reduce the molecular weight and viscos-
ity, apart from removing proteins that come along with
polysaccharides like mannose that have great potential as a
functional food (Ma et al. 2018). Single/dual enzymatic
modifications were performed for the extraction of
Asplenium australasicum mucilage. It was observed that the
purity of the mucilage increased with the removal of pro-
teinaceous mater using trichloroacetic acid and proteinase
enzyme treatments. Simultaneously, physical properties were
improved and enzymatic treatment using proteinase and
xylanase resulted in structural modifications and enhanced
functional properties (Zeng and Lai 2016).
Several other extraction techniques have proven the
potential for the extraction of bio-based ingredients (Belwal
et al. 2018). Considering a balance between yield, purity,
cost, time, and simplicity, these can be explored for the
extraction of mucilages as well. Generally, crude mucilages
possess off-flavors that must be removed. Further, the pres-
ence of protein-matter and endogenous enzymes can affect
the stability of the solution. Hence, it is necessary to purify
mucilages with solvents like ethanol, isopropanol, methanol,
copper, or barium complexes. Accordingly, the purification
of cress seed mucilages was done using a series of solvents
like ethanol, followed by isopropanol and ethanol-isopropa-
nol, resulting in a reduction of the molecular weight of poly-
saccharides and the removal of ash and protein (Razmkhah,
Razavi, and Mohammadifar 2016). The purification step can
significantly alter the properties of mucilage. For instance,
purified basil seed mucilage, guar gum (Amid and
Mirhosseini 2012), and Lallemantia royleana seed mucilages
(Razavi, Cui, and Ding 2016) showed higher viscosity upon
elimination of protein impurities. Crude mucilages can also
be purified using column separation techniques that func-
tion based on molecular weight. Columns like diethylami-
noethyl-cellulose and Sephadex G-100 have been used to
purify crude polysaccharide. For example, polysaccharides
extracted from jujube using microwave treatment were puri-
fied in a G-100 column; following this, the purified mucilage
was subjected to lyophilization (Rostami, Mohammad, and
Gharibzahedi 2016).
Characterization
It is important to understand the properties of mucilages as
they can help to explain the chemical composition and the
effect of different extraction and purification techniques,
apart from facilitating in knowing their prospective applica-
tion ranges (Zhao, Li, et al. 2017). To being with, mucilages
are evaluated for their color and odor (Deshmukh et al.
2013). Then, a series of physio-chemical and functional
properties are evaluated.
Structure
Mucilages are complex polysaccharides with high molecular
weight. Their highly branched polymeric structures are
made up of different sugars and uronic acid. They are highly
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION 9
hydrophilic and form gels due to their cage-like structures.
Typically, polysaccharides are made up of galactose, arabin-
ose, rhamnose, and galacturonic acid. Likewise, mass spec-
trometry can be used to analyze carbohydrates by knowing
the monosaccharides based on their retention time. For
instance, about 49% to 58% of galactose bonds and the
derivatives of galacturonic acid were observed in mucilages
from the leaves of P. aculeata (Martin et al. 2017).
Janjusevic et al. (2017) and Karaman et al. (2019) explained
the method for polysaccharides identification using planar
chromatography by comparing chromatographic mobility
with appropriate sugar standards. Acid soluble carbohydrates
and dietary fiber are hydrolyzed before examination of the
monosaccharide composition using high-performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC). Sugar molecules are detected using
the refractive index detector, based on retention time and
standard value. Phenolic acid glucosides (as in linseed frac-
tions) can also be identified and measured through HPLC
(Mueller et al. 2010). The structure of carbohydrates can be
analyzed from its NMR spectra (Xing et al. 2017).
Solubility
Natural polysaccharides are excellent carriers for the delivery
of nutraceutical and drug compounds. The solubility of pol-
ysaccharides is pH-dependent. Accordingly, they are modi-
fied in different ways to control the release and absorption
patterns of the selected compounds in the gastrointestinal
tract. Introducing acidic, basic, and other functional mole-
cules through hydrophobization, physical cross-linking,
cross-linking by ionic interaction and crystallization alter
their solubility. Similarly, chemical modifications through
radical polymerization and condensation reactions can
enhance stability as well as solubility (Bhosale, Osmani, and
Moin 2014).
Rheological characteristics
Understanding the physical functionality of mucilages is
necessary to determine its prospective applications as food
additives for stabilizing, thickeners, or fat replacement appli-
cations. Rheological characteristics of mucilages are directly
related to their structural features which in turn are depend-
ent on the source, concentration, chemical nature, and
extraction protocols. Mucilages are valued for their thicken-
ing and gel-forming behavior through intermolecular inter-
actions of polysaccharide side-chains through hydrogen
bonding or hydrophobic interactions. Through such polymer
chain interactions, mucilages exhibit pseudoplastic behavior,
indicative of shear-thinning effects. The presence of sugar in
mucilages has significant effects on the structuring capacity,
enhancing viscosity-dependent properties. Further, the pur-
ity of mucilages can determine their viscosity and rheo-
logical behavior. Similarly, the presence of proteinaceous
moieties in mucilages affects their thickening and gel-foam-
ing capacities, apart from their solubility. This is because the
insoluble nature of such proteinaceous matter restricts the
interaction of side-chain groups that affect the development of
a rigid network (Razmkhah, Razavi, and Mohammadifar 2016).
10 R. WAGHMARE ET AL.
Thermal behavior
Mucilages have been widely used as encapsulating agents,
thickeners, emulsifiers, and in the control of crystallization
processes. Thermogravimetry can reveal the thermal stabil-
ity, moisture content, and residual mass (trace metal) of
mucilages, thereby helping in predicting temperature stabil-
ity during encapsulation using thermal approaches such as
like spray drying (Bothara and Singh 2012). Thermal charac-
teristics provide insights on shelf-life stability, storage
period, design, and optimization of the drying process, and
values of glass transition (Tg) temperature. The Tg values of
mucilages can facilitate in assessing mechanical changes and
diffusional properties, thereby providing information on col-
lapse, stickiness, aggregation, and re-crystallization features
(Carter and Schmidt 2012). Further, sorption isotherms can
be used to explain the structural and thermodynamic prop-
erties of mucilages. A sorption isotherm depicts the associ-
ation between water activity and equilibrium moisture
content, in turn helping in understanding the binding char-
acteristics of mucilages as a hydrocolloid (Velazquez-
Gutierrez et al. 2015).
Interfacial properties
The surface and interfacial activities of plant-based muci-
lages can be linked with proteinaceous moieties and hydro-
phobic side chain groups. Interfacial properties are
significantly influenced by molecular weight, chain flexibil-
ity, and surface charges of mucilages (Naji-Tabasi,
Mohammad, and Razavi 2017). Promotion of lipid-water
interfaces or air-water interfaces depends on the concentra-
tion of mucilages (with high backbone chain flexibility)
which would involve and enhance emulsification processes.
Removal of protein impurities reduces the stabilizing effect
of emulsions and increases surface tension. This could be
overcome by increasing the concentration of mucilages as it
can change the viscoelastic behavior of aqueous phases, and
by increasing repulsive forces between lipid droplets
(Mahfoudhi, Ksouri, and Hamdi 2016; Abd El-Kader and
Hashish 2019). Molecular weight also plays a vital role in
the interfacial property; accordingly surface modifications
have been used to alter their molecular weight (Naji-Tabasi
and Razavi 2016).
Toxicity
Several natural polysaccharides are nontoxic. Nevertheless,
toxicity screening is an important step in the development
of a new product from mucilages extracted from unknown
plant sources (Kumar and Gupta 2012). The toxicity of
mucilages depends on their chemical nature and mode of
action in food systems. Hence, it is recommended to evalu-
ate the toxicity level of mucilages, especially the presence of
heavy metals in a different plant source. The acute toxicity
of mucilages can be determined by the fixed-dose method as
per the Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) guidelines (no. 425). The LD50 sub-
acute toxicity can be determined through animal models like
rats and guinea pigs of both sexes and such studies also help
to understand the biocompatibility of mucilages. For
instance, to determine the toxicity level of hibiscus mucilage,
acute toxicity was studied and results confirmed that levels
up to 2000 mg/kg are safe (Shende and Marathe 2015).
Mucilages can also perform the role of dietary fiber
owing to the presence of both soluble and insoluble polysac-
charides. This can be used in applications involving the con-
trol of colon microbiota, standardization of blood serum
lipid levels, modulation of the postprandial glucose response,
and the delay of gastric discharging (Bernstein et al. 2013).
Owing to their nontoxic and biocompatible nature, muci-
lages have the potential to replace synthetic polymers.
Though they are abundantly available in nature, it is import-
ant to understand the cost-effectiveness of different
approaches involved in the production of mucilage powders,
in comparison with synthetic counterparts. This can provide
a better understanding of the potential of extensive use of
mucilages for various industrial applications.
Mucilages as encapsulation agents
Mucilages possess exceptional attributes of solubility, bio-
degradability, stability, and edibility. Their ability to form a
dense network after drying and their high molecular weight
carbohydrate polymers make them suitable for micro and
nanoencapsulation of food and bioactive compounds. The
molecular weight of an encapsulating agent affects the oxi-
dative stability of the encapsulated compound through diffu-
sion-related effects (Carneiro et al. 2013). High molecular
weights can help to retain more core compounds and pro-
vide improved stability. Currently, apart from their other
applications, plant-based mucilages are being explored as
wall materials for various encapsulation studies. In plants,
mucilage sheaths or mucilaginous coverings help in retain-
ing water, protect the seeds, and enhance the disposal of
seeds (Western 2012). Owing to their gluey nature and
strength, they have been explored for different encapsulation
applications. For example, the nanoencapsulation of linseed
oil with chia seed mucilage as wall material could improve
the oil-water solubility with high water content (da Silva
Stefani et al. 2019). This section lists the important merits of
mucilages and encapsulation agents.

Due to the presence of carbohydrates and proteins in the
mucilages, they can form a three-dimensional network
which enhances the stability and uniformity of the matrix
(Monrroy et al. 2017);

They exhibit minimal moisture sorption, glass transition,
and integral entropy. These contribute to enhanced shelf-
life stability of the product (Alpizar-Reyes et al. 2017);

Mucilages contain hydrophilic groups and can enhance
the solubility and activity of hydrophobic antioxidants.
This, for example, was proven in studies on encapsula-
tion of hydrophobic antioxidants using Basellaalba muci-
lage (Das et al. 2017);

Mucilages possess anionic characteristics and semi-rigid
chain conformation with intermediate flexibility; this

makes them a suitable hydrocolloid for emulsification
and stabilization (Kavousi, Fathi, and Goli 2017);

Mucilages have low toxicity and are highly biocompatible
(Nguimbou et al. 2014);

Apart from their role as filler/wall materials, mucilages
exhibit inherent biological activities like antimicrobial
(Gyawali and Ibrahim 2014), antidiabetic (Kumar et al.
2005), immunomodulatory and antioxidant (Nguimbou
et al. 2014) effects due to the presence of phenolics
and flavonoids;

Mucilages are also referred to as intelligent drug delivery
systems due to their response characteristics against
adverse environmental factors like ions, pH, enzymes,
and temperature. For example, Plantago psyllium muci-
lage was utilized to deliver peptide drugs in the colon
region based on responses to acidic pH (Ngwuluka,
Ochekpe, and Aruoma 2014);

They can act as an intact carrier of active compounds,
allowing targeted delivery in the colon, where they
undergo degradation in the presence of anaerobic
microbes (Choudhary and Pawar 2014). The beta-config-
uration of mucilages cannot be digested by enzymes in
the human digestive tract; however, the presence of
bowel flora helps in partial digestion of mucilages to
result in the formation of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA).
This SCFA is then readily absorbed and assimilated for
nourishment (Jean 2009);

The gastro-intestinal disintegration behavior of the
encapsulating wall material is an important consideration
for nutraceutical delivery applications. Mucilages are
known to exhibit excellent disintegration behavior owing
to their absorption and swelling characteristics (Luo, Wu,
et al. 2019);

Bioavailability of bioactive compounds (especially poorly
soluble ones) can be enhanced when delivered as a sus-
pension in an aqueous medium. Mucilages can be used
as suspending agents (providing results on par with syn-
thetic filler materials like sodium carboxymethyl cellu-
lose) to prevent the settling of dispersed particles and to
restrict aggregation effects (Bernstein et al. 2013;
Kulkarni et al. 2002);

The mucoadhesive property of the mucilages contributes
to enhanced bioavailability. For example, the bioavailabil-
ity of lamivudine was enhanced when delivered as drum-
stick mucilage microspheres (Gada, Anandkumar, and
Setty 2019). Similarly, fenugreek-derived galactomannan
fiber enhanced the bioavailability of curcuminoids, and
this was observed in studies on Wistar rats and human
volunteers (IM et al. 2012).

Mucilages show good cryo-stabilizing effects; the incorp-
oration of mucilage reduces about 40% of ice recrystal-
lization rates in ice creams. It can also assist in
preserving shape features like uniformity (Soukoulis,
Gaiani, and Hoffmann 2018). Such significant uniqueness
of mucilages can be used to preserve aromatic and lipid
compounds through encapsulation by spray-
freeze drying.
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION 11

To enhance mechanical strength, tensile strength, flexibil-
ity, and water vapor barrier properties, mucilages have
been used for the encapsulation of bioactive compounds
in food packaging applications. In a recent study, quince
seed mucilage was used as the encapsulation agent for
thyme essential oil to enhance the shelf-life of chilled
trout fillet (Jouki et al. 2014; Beikzadeh et al. 2020).

Mucilages can also use for the encapsulation of expensive
oils that hold high volatile compounds and are easily oxi-
dized under room temperature. The advantages of muci-
lage extracted from S. hispanica include the ability to
produce highly concentrated oil capsules that have the
property of controlled release. This indicates the capacity
of mucilages to stabilize an emulsion without any chem-
ical additive or enzymatic modification processes (Us-
Medina et al. 2017). Similarly, mucilages have been used
to develop stable systems for omega-3 rich oils to enrich
non-fatty acid foods. The study on the development of
linseed oil nanoparticles using chia mucilages as structur-
ing materials to improve the oil-water solubility in
orange juice is an example (da Silva Stefani et al. 2019).

Mucilages can also easily intact with other polymers and
exhibit high colloidal and thermal stability. This blend is
an excellent microencapsulation material for the protec-
tion of heat-sensitive compounds such as pigments and
nutraceutical compounds (Soukoulis, Gaiani, and
Hoffmann 2018).

Mucilages show high tolerance over a wide range of pH
and temperature conditions. Thus, they are considered to
be a good alternative biomaterial for complex coacerva-
tion processes. The presence of protein in mucilages
plays an important role in its interaction with other
hydrocolloids to form stable systems. For example, tur-
meric seed mucilage possesses about 14.42% of protein,
allowing strong interactions between the amino (NH3þ)
and carboxyl groups (COO-), resulting in the formation
of stable complexes with whey protein (Gonzalez-
Martınez et al. 2017).
Encapsulation techniques and recent research focus
Encapsulation involves embedding one or more substances
into another and delivering them in particles sized in nano-
meter, micrometer, and millimeter ranges (Mahalakshmi
et al. 2020). Several techniques have been explored for micro
and nanoencapsulation of different bioactive compounds
like spray drying (Lavanya et al. 2020), freeze-drying (Dutta,
Moses, and Anandharamakrishnan 2018a), spray-freeze dry-
ing (Vishali et al. 2019), and electrospinning (Mahalakshmi
et al. 2020). This section reports the use of mucilages in
these techniques.
Spray drying
Spray drying is an extensively used technique involving the
conversion of a liquid solution into a dry and stable powder
form. It gives numerous benefits: provides spherical particles
of a particular size range, continuous operation, relatively
12 R. WAGHMARE ET AL.
low-cost processing, less processing time, and flexibility.
Apart from processing conditions such as inlet and outlet
temperatures and feed flow rate, the selection of wall mater-
ial and the wall-to-core ratio are important considerations.
Recent studies have reported the encapsulation of linseed oil
(da Silva Stefani et al. 2019), lemon essential oil (Cortes-
Camargo et al. 2019), and fish oil (Kavousi, Fathi, and Goli
2017) using mucilages. Encapsulation of fish oil involved the
use of a novel hydrogel of cress seed mucilage (CSM) and
chitosan by spray drying (Kavousi, Fathi, and Goli 2017).
These researchers explained that interactions between CSM
and chitosan could improve the thermal stability of the
hydrogels even up to 355  C. The optimized conditions were
48:52 of CMS/chitosan ratio, 23% of fish oil and 0.33% of
polysaccharide concentration, respectively. The prepared
hydrogel was found to be effective in preventing oxidation
of fish oil, apart from improving its solubility in aqueous
solution. Further, in the study on encapsulation of linseed
oil with chia mucilage as wall material using spray drying,
researchers reported prevention of oxidation of Ꙍ 3-PUFA
(polyunsaturated fatty acids) present in the oil (da Silva
Stefani et al. 2019). Oil nanoparticles could be added to
non-fatty food (orange juice) without concerns about con-
sumer acceptance. Similarly, a mixture of CSM with mes-
quite gum was used as a structuring material for the
encapsulation of lemon essential oil (Cortes-Camargo et al.
2019). A slight quantity of CSM mixed in mesquite gum
could increase the oxidative stability and delays the dis-
charge rate of encapsulated lemon essential oil as compared
to mesquite gum alone as the wall material of the microcap-
sules. Another study reported that the solubility and dissol-
ution of iloperidone in spray-dried microparticles were
enhanced using mucilage extracted from seeds of
Caesalpinia pulcherrima (Ige, Agrawal, and Patil 2015).
Apart from essential oils, mucilages have been used to
encapsulate probiotic cultures as well. Lactobacilli and bifi-
dobacteria are the most commonly used probiotic cultures
for functional food applications. It has been established that
the encapsulation of probiotic microbes in mucilages can
improve their resistance against gastric conditions. For
example, flaxseed mucilage (FM) in combination with sol-
uble protein (as structuring material) was used to encapsu-
late Lactobacillus acidophilus La-05 using spray drying
(Bustamante et al. 2015). Around 78% survival of L. acid-
ophilus was achieved at 0.2% wt/vol of FM in the
encapsulating solution at a drying temperature of 110  C.
Around 2-fold enhancement in the viability of L. acidophilus
was found in the FM encapsulating solution, and about 90%
survival was achieved when the heat-treated flaxseed muci-
lage and soluble protein were added to the encapsulating
solution. The positive outcome of FM on the survival of
Lactobacillus acidophilus La-05 proved its role as a structur-
ing material during encapsulation.
Another interesting application is the use of mucilages as
wall materials for the encapsulation of polyphenols. In the
process of spray drying, microencapsulated phenolic com-
pounds can retain their antioxidant activity and stability
owing to the rapid drying time. Medina-Torres et al. (2013)
reported microencapsulation of gallic acid with nopal muci-
lage as wall material (Medina-Torres et al. 2013). The muci-
lage could improve the stability of gallic acid during storage.
Aloe vera mucilage has also been used for microencapsula-
tion of gallic acid using spray drying. Importantly, the muci-
lage can provide an economical and natural alternative to
traditional encapsulating structuring materials such as mal-
todextrins. Further, the higher release of gallic acid was
observed when microencapsulated with aloe vera mucilage
than with maltodextrin (Figure 2a and b). Betalains are
active compounds extracted from the pulp and skin of vari-
ous horticultural produce. Opuntia ficus indica mucilage was
used as an encapsulating agent for Escontria chiotilla and
Stenocereus queretaroensis pulp and skin pigments using
spray drying (Delia et al. 2019). Betalains present in the skin
of these fruits were extracted by acidification. No significant
difference was found among the color obtained from the
pulp and the skin. In another study on microencapsulation
of betalains using cladode mucilage from O. ficus-indica, it
was observed that pigment retention was more than 70% at
18  C (Otalora et al. 2015). Accordingly, the use of natural
mucilages can be a promising combination of natural colo-
rants and flavorings.
Freeze drying
Freeze drying or lyophilization involves the conversion of
product moisture to ice, followed by sublimation of ice.
Through freeze drying, encapsulation of bioactive com-
pounds can be done by dissolving, dispersing, or emulsifying
core compounds in the solution (encapsulating agent) before
lyophilization. Freeze drying produces high-quality porous
products with good retention of product structure. Apart
from product variables, temperature, pressure, and time
combinations for the freezing, primary drying and secondary
drying stages are important considerations. Freeze drying
has been used for nanoencapsulation of zeaxanthin nanopar-
ticles using cactus cladode mucilage (Opuntia monacantha)
as the wall material (de Campo et al. 2018). Zeaxanthin is a
bioactive compound with a characteristic yellow color. It is
a xanthophyll carotenoid and has low water solubility,
restricting its applications in food systems. In this study,
nanoemulsions and nanoparticles were developed and eval-
uated. The thermal behavior of the encapsulating material
demonstrated that the nanoparticles showed higher stability
than the nanoemulsion. Further, during the 28-day storage
period (at 25 and 40  C), the retention of zeaxanthin in
nanoparticles was found to be higher than their retention in
nanoemulsion. The study explained the potential of cactus
cladode mucilage to replace synthetic polymers for nanoen-
capsulation. Similarly, psyllium husk mucilage, a nontoxic
and biodegradable natural mucilage, was used as the struc-
turing material for microencapsulation of curcumin by
freeze drying (Monge Neto et al. 2017). In this study, the
thermal stability of a freeze-dried psyllium husk mucilage
microencapsulated curcumin was observed to be more than
spray dried microcapsules. SEM images of the cross-sec-
tional view of basil seed mucilage hydrogels from different
ZnO-NP are shown in Figure 3, explaining the
 CRITICAL REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION 13

Figure 2. (a) SEM images of spray dried A1: Aloe vera, A2: Aloe vera with gallic acid, B1: maltodextrin and B2: maltodextrin with gallic acid (Medina-Torres et al.
2013). (b) Comparison between the release behavior of microencapsulated gallic acid with aloe vera mucilage versus maltodextrin at 37  C (Medina-Torres
et al. 2013).

Figure 2. Continued.

interconnected open-cell structure. Hydrogen bonding and
electrostatic interactions among hydroxyl and carboxyl
groups in mucilages are known to cause a rigid structure.
This study confirmed that basil seed mucilage can act as a
valuable polymer for water holding applications
(Tantiwatcharothai and Prachayawarakorn 2019).
Complex coacervation
Complex coacervation is a conventional method used for
the encapsulation of flavors and functional ingredients in
food manufacturing. Microcapsules produced using coacer-
vation show several advantages including their improved sta-
bility against environmental factors (oxygen, temperature,
light) and their ability in regulating discharge rates of bio-
active agents. Typically, the process involves emulsification,
coacervation, gelatinization, and hardening (Otalora,
Casta~no, and Wilches-Torres 2019), and proteins and poly-
saccharides are the most widely used wall materials. Several
studies have investigated the potential of mucilages for com-
plex coacervation applications. Jannasari et al. (2019) and
Kavousi, Fathi, and Goli (2018) used cress seed mucilage for
14 R. WAGHMARE ET AL.
Figure 3. SEM images of basil seed mucilage hydrogel sponges prepared with various ZnO nanoparticles (Tantiwatcharothai and Prachayawarakorn 2019).
microencapsulation of vitamin and curcumin, respectively.
About 28% and 70% of vitamin release were observed in
simulated gastric and intestinal conditions, respectively. The
maximum yield was obtained with a biopolymer ratio of 1:2
(cress seed mucilage and caseinate). Subsequently, an
increase in biopolymer concentration improved the encapsu-
lation efficiency and loading capacity of curcumin. Both
results confirmed that cress seed mucilage is suitable for
encapsulation and controlled release of hydrophobic
food bioactive.
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble bioactive compound that
improves the intestinal absorption of calcium. However,
vitamin D is sensitive to high temperatures, oxidation
effects, and acidic environments. Encapsulation improves
the stability of vitamin D by complex coacervation under
such adverse conditions. In a recent study by Jannasari et al.
(2019), cress seed mucilage with gelatin was used as wall
materials and the encapsulation efficiency and loading cap-
acity were found to be significantly affected by both ratios
(core-to-wall and mucilage-to-gelatin) (Jannasari et al.
2019). Encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity were
found to be 67.93% and 50.91%, respectively. Similarly, gel-
atin and cactus mucilage have also been used as structuring
materials for the encapsulation of bioactive compounds
using complex coacervation (Otalora, Casta~no, and Wilches-
Torres 2019). The morphological and thermal properties of
samples revealed intermolecular attractions between gelatin
and cactus mucilage. Structural analysis revealed that elec-
trostatic interactions were responsible for the formation of
complex coacervates between gelatin and cactus mucilage. In
another similar structural analysis by Hernandez-Nava et al.
(2019) the complex formed between gelatin and chia muci-
lage was explained to have occurred due to electrostatic
interaction. The optimized parameters obtained in this study
to form complex coacervates of gelatin and chia mucilage
were a ratio of 2:1 with a pH of 3.6 (Hernandez-Nava et al.
2019). In a different study of complex coacervation of whey
protein isolate and quince seed mucilage, conditions were
optimized at pH 4.0 for the ratio of 70:30. These optimized
parameters provided coacervates, the highest particle size,
and yield values. Accordingly, mucilages and proteins have
been successfully used in combination with the encapsula-
tion of active ingredients through complex coacervation
(Ghadermazi, Khosrowshahi Asl, and Tamjidi 2019).
Micro/nanoemulsions
The emulsion technique is a common method used in the
food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. This tech-
nique is used to alter the texture, flavor, and appearance of
food products such as mayonnaise, sauces, and creams.
Typically, emulsion systems are comprised of thoroughly or
partly dispersed liquid in the form of globules in another
liquid phase. Emulsion systems can improve the bioavailabil-
ity of poorly water-soluble active compounds (Castro-Rosas
et al. 2017). Emulsifiers can improve the stability of emul-
sions by enclosing the distributed globules in the system,
thereby decreasing the interfacial tension between the
immiscible phases. Advanced devices such as ultra or high-
pressure homogenizers, ultrasonics, and microfluidizers can
supply intensive energy to the mixture and decrease the
globule size of the emulsion to micro or nanoscale (Prakash
et al. 2018). Recently, microfluidic devices are also being
used for such applications. Pereira et al. (2019) prepared an
oil-in-water emulsion containing mutamba (Guazuma ulmi-
folia Lam.) seed mucilage as emulsifying agent using high-
intensity ultrasound. The emulsion prepared with Mutamba
seed mucilage as wall material was found to be more stable
and could control the release of volatile compounds as com-
pared to emulsions prepared with gum acacia and modified

Figure 4. Emulsion kinetic stability during the storage at room temperature (25 ± 2  C). Backscattering profiles (0–24 h) of emulsions and imagens of measuring
cells containing the fresh emulsions and the emulsions after 24 h of storage. Mutamba seed mucilage (MSM), gum acacia (GA), Hi-cap 100 (Hi-Cap) and Snow-Flake
E6131 (SF) (Pereira et al. 2019).
starches emulsifiers. The mucilage could efficiently retain
volatile compounds from orange peel oil in the emulsion
and can be used as an emulsifying and thickening agent for
food products (Pereira et al. 2019). Kinetic stability (0–24 h)
of different emulsions prepared with various emulsifiers was
determined (Figure 4). Backscattering data revealed the
destabilization process and the study also explained that the
rate of phase separation was higher in the case of gum aca-
cia and modified starches as compared with the mutamba
seed mucilage.
Higher quantities of polysaccharides and proteins are
found in species of the Cactacea family. A prepared ora-pro-
nobis mucilage was found to enhance the droplet number
and size uniformly of emulsions with stable morphological
structures. Lago et al. (2019) studied oil-in-water nanoemul-
sions prepared with mucilage from ora-pro-nobis leaves
using ultrasonication. Sonication time of 5 minutes and 90%
ultrasonic power amplitude was used for the development of
the nanoemulsion and about 1.5% ora-pro-nobis mucilage
and 1.0% soybean oil were optimized. In another study, chia
seed oil was nano-encapsulated with chia mucilage as the
structuring material. It was found that the mucilage could
improve the oxidative stability of chia seed oil (de Campo
et al. 2017). These findings can be extended to other ingre-
dients as well.
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION 15
Electrospinning and electrospraying
Electrohydrodynamic processes of electrospraying and electro-
spinning are sister-technologies that are being used for nano-
encapsulation of food and bioactive ingredients in
nanoparticles or nanofibers of ten to hundreds of nanometers.
Natural, synthetic, or mixed polymers can be utilized for the
formation of nanofibers. Nanofibers have several applications
in food systems including their role as food texturing agents,
in encapsulation of active food compounds, and food packag-
ing. Nanofibers have been prepared by using basil seed muci-
lage and polyvinyl alcohol and no negative reactions were
observed between them (Kurd, Fathi, and Shekarchizadeh
2017). In another study, using polyvinyl alcohol – cress seed
mucilage blends, Fahami and Fathi (2018) encapsulated vita-
min A in nanofibers with diameters ranging from 90.25 to
169.95 nm. Nanoencapsulation could distinctly enhance the
thermal stability of vitamin A (Figure 5). The release profiles
of vitamin A in simulated gastric and intestinal fluids were
studied. Around 97% of encapsulation efficiency was reported
for vitamin A. In simulated gastric fluid, 5.27% vitamin A
was discharged; however, in simulated intestinal fluid 15.43%
vitamin release was recorded. These results were indicative of
the controlled release behavior of nanofibers under various
conditions. Similarly, flaxseed mucilage has also been used as
an encapsulating agent for the formation of nanofibers and
16 R. WAGHMARE ET AL.
Figure 5. SEM images and mean diameters of cress seed mucilage/poly vinyl alcohol nanofibers (A) and vitamin A loaded cress seed mucilage/poly vinyl alcohol
nanofibers (B) (Fahami and Fathi 2018).
for the encapsulation of bioactive compounds (Fahami and
Fathi 2018). Hadad and Goli (2019) encapsulated flaxseed oil
with flaxseed mucilage as wall material and developed nano-
fibers. Nanofiber including 40% (wt/wt) flaxseed oil possessed
homogenous morphology with a diameter of 332.9 nm. The
encapsulation efficiency of 82.7% was reported and the
approach confirmed the protection of oil from environmental
conditions (Hadad and Goli 2019).
Extrusion
Extrusion has been widely used for the encapsulation of pro-
biotic cells as the method does not involve high tempera-
tures or the use of organic solvents (Silva et al. 2018).
Typically, the probiotic inoculum is first mixed with a suit-
able hydrocolloid solution to form microspheres; then,
extrusion occurs through the nozzle, and the prepared
spheres are collected in a bath solution. In this way, probiot-
ics are encapsulated in matrix-type particles (Rostami and
Gharibzahedi 2016; Ige, Agrawal, and Patil 2015). The sur-
vival of L. rhamnosus was successfully improved by micro-
encapsulation in hot-filling mode using extrusion
encapsulation (Dokoohaki, Sekhavatizadeh, and
Hosseinzadeh 2019). This study focused on the application
of quince seed mucilage as the coating material to microen-
capsulate L. rhamnosus. Quince seeds are valued for their
rich nutritional composition and contribution to human
health. The thickness of the coating material is the dominant
parameter that governs the micromechanical strength of the
microparticles and microencapsulated L. rhamnosus pro-
biotic cells could survived at up to 72  C. Using the extru-
sion technique, linseed and okra mucilages were also found
to be effective in preserving probiotic cells (Lactobacillus
casei LC-01 and Lactobacillus casei BGP 93). In fact, higher
stability of microencapsulated probiotics was observed in
case of linseed and okra mucilages as compared with sodium
alginate alone as the wall material. These microencapsulated
probiotic cells could effectively maintain cell viability over a
storage period of 15 days (Rodrigues et al. 2017).
Challenges and future perspectives
Though mucilages are nature-derived, their availability varies
based on environmental and seasonal conditions. These var-
iations apart from agronomical variations can have implica-
tions on the production and quality of mucilages, even up
to the level of showing differences in samples obtained from
various places. Variation in the composition of the released
mucilage has been linked with genetically regulated physio-
logical modifications. However, mucilage extrusion, its com-
position, and layer organization depend on the secretory
cells of mucilages (Miart et al. 2019). Following collection,
extraction and purification are critical processes.
Morphological characteristics (like seed coat), physical dam-
age to seed, and incomplete removal of mucilage can also
affect the yield and quality of mucilages, posing a major
challenge to associated costs and the scope for mass level
productions (Kurd, Fathi, and Shekarchizadeh 2017; Silva
et al. 2018). Several reports explain batch to batch variation
in the final product. This also affects the rate of hydration
and percentage of chemical constituents, because of varia-
tions arising from the region, species, and climatic condi-
tions. As discussed in earlier sections, several process
variables have direct implications on the yield and quality of
mucilages, demanding the need for cautious considerations.
Mucilage has around 10% equilibrium moisture content
and the risk of microbial contamination during any stage of
its processing is possible. This is because they contain bio-
logical substances that favor the growth and development of
microorganisms under conducive environments. Another
key operation is the storage period; studies have reported
changes in the quality of mucilages with storage. For
instance, the viscosity of water-based suspensions can vary
based on the duration of storage of the mucilage (Bahadur
et al. 2017). This also requires careful monitoring of the
various storage practices adopted at different levels of their
supply chain. Further, modifications should be carried out
to overcome the drawbacks of uncontrolled hydration, thick-
ening, pH dependency, thermal decomposition, shear
instability, and uncontrolled biodegradability of mucilages
(Alobo and Arueya 2017).

Limitations of using mucilages as encapsulation agents
Though mucilages can be extruded as encapsulation agents,
only a few studies have been reported using mucilages as
encapsulation agents and compared them commercially
available polymers. Some examples include aloe vera muci-
lages vs. maltodextrin (Medina-Torres et al. 2019), mutamba
seed mucilage vs. gum acacia, and modified starches (Pereira
et al. 2019), and cladode mucilage vs. maltodextrin
(Rodrigues et al. 2017). Results observed for mucilages were
remarkable in comparison with conventional filler materials.
Nevertheless, there are challenges associated with the use of
mucilages. Chia mucilage is a highly hygroscopic material
that is an amorphous substance that absorbs moisture rap-
idly from the environment. The combination of maltodex-
trin or gum arabic with low concentrations of chia mucilage
would result in the lower moisture content of microcapsules
(Antigo et al. 2020). Likewise, mucilage extracted from
Brasenia schreberi was found to be unstable when exposed
to high-temperature, humidity, and strong light exposure.
Hence, gelatin was blended with BS mucilage for encapsula-
tion (Luo, Wu, et al. 2019). Likewise, Otalora et al. (2015)
reported the low thermal stability of the mucilage extracted
from the Cactus cladode. However, maltodextrin is more sta-
ble and was used in combination with cactus mucilage for
encapsulation of betalains. Though the presence of mucilage
enhances the survival rate of probiotics during the storage
of encapsulates, the encapsulation efficiency was found to
improve with the addition of other polymers. A study on
the encapsulation of L. casei with okra and linseed mucilage
showed that the addition of sodium alginate increased the
encapsulation efficiency by more than 93%. This indicates
that sodium alginate (charged polymer) is involved in the
formation of a stable matrix along with the net negative
charge of mucilage, thus increasing the electrostatic interac-
tions and the formation of microencapsulate beads
(Rodrigues et al. 2017). Another study demonstrated the
advantages of alginates in improving the low pH tolerance
due to its denser hydrogel network which offers the protect-
ing ability for the stable and sustained release of bacteria. It
is important to note that the loose networks of fenugreek
and psyllium mucilage can erosion easily in intestinal condi-
tions (Haghshenas et al. 2015).
In spray drying, the viscosity of the feed material is an
important property and affects particle size and inlet air
temperature. Mucilage from chia seed showed high viscosity
due to the presence of carbohydrates like D-xylose and a-D-
glucose, and 4-0-methyl-a-D-glucuronic acid. As the con-
centration increases, high temperatures were required during
spray drying, in turn, causing adverse effects to the proteins
present in the mucilage, converting them to hydrophobic
material. Hence, flaxseed and chia seed mucilage were used
with inulin as encapsulating agents by Bustamante et al.
(2020). In some cases, the polyanion nature of mucilages
cause a high repulsive force, making it unsuitable for encap-
sulation. To hinder this drawback, polyvinyl alcohol was
blended with cress mucilage as it could reduce the repulsive
force and allow an effective electrospinning process (Fahami
and Fathi 2018).
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION 17
In general, these aspects must be better explored, and
research must be taken up to study the scope of mucilages
in comparison with conventional encapsulation materials in
the context of cost, convenience, compatibility, and
scalability.
Conclusion
This article described the use of mucilages as encapsulation
agents. On the whole, the need to optimize sources, extrac-
tion, and purification conditions remain. Further, very lim-
ited studies have explored the potential of novel extraction
techniques for improved yield and quality of mucilages. In
the context of the application, well-defined studies can be
taken up to compare the pros-and-cons of using mucilages
as encapsulation agents, as compared with other conven-
tional wall materials. These have to also include an under-
standing of the release behaviors and potential of targeted
delivery using mucilage-based wall materials for both micro
and nano encapsulation-based applications. From a different
perspective, the scope of using natural mucilages as encapsu-
lation agents for the delivery of food and nutraceutical
ingredients is promising. Insights from their usage for
pharmaceutical/drug delivery applications can be a valuable
resource for food applications, and vice versa.
Disclosure statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
ORCID
Roji Waghmare http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8325-5858
Preethi R http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7570-9909
J. A. Moses http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5546-4481
C. Anandharamakrishnan http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9599-5594
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