Delivery technologies for chlorogenic acid: A comprehensive review of carrier platforms, performance, and challenges

Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is a plant-derived phenolic widely found in coffee, tea, fruits, and vegetables, and has attracted considerable interest because of its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial potential. However, its practical application is limited by poor stability during processing and storage, sensitivity to temperature, pH, oxygen, and light, and low oral bioavailability caused by gastrointestinal degradation and extensive metabolism. To overcome these limitations, a range of delivery and structuring strategies have been developed to improve CGA protection, dispersibility, release behavior, and bioaccessibility. This review summarizes the structural characteristics and key functional properties of CGA that are relevant to delivery design, and outlines its major degradation pathways in food and digestive environments. It then discusses current CGA delivery systems, with emphasis on their functional roles, representative applications in functional foods and active packaging, and their main advantages and limitations. Finally, current challenges and future directions are highlighted to support more effective and scalable utilization of CGA in food and health-related applications.