Edible mRNA platforms: The next frontier in precision functional foods

Background: The tendency toward functional foods is moving not toward the fixed intake of nutrient supplementation but toward dynamic biological regulation. Nanocarriers of edible mRNA are disruptive technologies, whereby foods may serve as bioreactors to induce temporary, targeted delivery of genes without posing the threat of genomic integration. Scope and approach: The review is the summation of 156 peer-reviewed papers (2022-2025) and industrial reports to evaluate the bases of the technology, translational prospects, and social implications of edible mRNA systems in functional foods. It is used in the fields of immunomodulation, metabolism regulation, scalable production and ethical nutrition. Key findings and conclusions: mRNA delivery structures, including plant lipid droplets and chitosan-alginate structures, facilitate oral stability and intestinal control. IL-10 mRNA has been used in the management of IBD, whereas FGF21 mRNA has been used to treat obesity, and milk exosome-based immune priming has been used. Although there are challenges such as mRNA degradation during processing and uncertain regulatory mechanisms, edible mRNA systems have benefits over traditional nutritional supplements, such as shorter developmental cycles and low costs. The given review offers a roadmap with the help of which it is possible to combine green synthesis, the principles of a circular economy, and AI-based personalization, which allows making mRNA foods potentially scalable answers to sustainable precision nutrition.

Dergi

FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL

Yıl

2026

Cilt

226

ISSN

0963-9969

eISSN

1873-7145

DOI

10.1016/j.foodres.2025.118244

WoS UID

WOS:001658813100003