Vincenzo Fogliano, Paola Vitaglione and Roberta Barone Lumaga

Dip. Food Science, University of Naples “Federico II”

Strategy for new functional products using encapsulation technology

Nanofoods project

Development  of  foods  containing  nanoencapsulated  ingredient    A European Commission funded project Seventh Framework Programme: CAPACITIES Call Identifier: FP7-SME-2007-1 Project No: 222006

Ingredients encapsulation Simple concept: Incorporate in the food some key ingredients in the encapsulated forms instead of free form Capsule are formed by

•  Core (usually the bioactive compound we are interested in)

•  Coating (usually the protecting agent, but we can also deal with functional coating agents)

Ingredients encapsulation

The size of the capsule determines the name of the encapsulated material Nanoencapsulated (fatty acid, phenolic compounds) Microencapsulated (bacteria)

WHY TO ENCAPSULATE?

• Protection during food processing • Improvement of sensorial features • Controlled delivery in the gastro intestinal

tract • Enhance of physiological functionality

Encapsulation to preserve food nutritional quality from process damage

•  Compound unstable to thermal treatment such as Vitamins (particularly Vitamin C and group B;) in juice, dairy products, ecc

•  Probiotics in long shelf life products such as chocolate creams

•  Inhibition of Maillard Reaction Products development: encapsulation of iron and Vit C in infant formulas

Encapsulation to improve the sensorial characteristics of foods

•  Off flavour reduction: fish oil in dairy and bakery products, very bitter bioactive compounds

•  Long lasting freshness: controlled release of aroma componds. Particularly useful for product re-heated by the final consumers

The use of encapsulated ingredients can result

in a “sandy effect” in the final creams

Encapsulation to achieve a controlled delivery in the gastro intestinal tract

•  Omega-3 fatty acids released in the lower gut to exert anti-inflammatory activity

•  Some prebiotic fibre (i.e. FOS) are fermented too rapidly only in the first tract of the colon.

•  Intestinal receptor of sweet taste release hormones controlling hungry and satiety. Potent ligands of these receptor can be delivered to the intestine to modulate these sensation

Encapsulation to enhance physiological functionality of

bioactive compounds

•  Bioavailable Calcium •  Encapsulated Phytosterols •  Co-encapsulation with appropriate converting

enzymes or bacteria (genistein, ellagitannins, anthocyanins…)

Enhance physiological functionality: the case of curcumin

•  Curcumin has many biological activities but is poorly bioavailable also due to poor solubility

•  Piperine is known to enhance curcumin bioavailability

•  Co-encapsulation of curcumin and piperin

Encapsulation strategies

Coating material: ethylcellulose, castor oil +/- vegetable oil

Encapsulation technique: fluid bed

Coating% Hydrogenate

vegetable oil (15%)

8,5 +

12,75 +

10 -

15 -

Heavy coating and vegetable oil ensure better stability to curcumin during baking process

Polyphenol-free diet

Blood Urine

Faeces

bread portion (1g curcumin)

Blood Urines

Urines

Blood Urine

Faeces

bread portion (1g curcumin)

bread portion (1g curcumin)

-2 days 0 0.5 1 2 4 6 8 10 12 24 hours

Healthy subjects – 3 groups Control bread, encapsulated curcumin bread, encapsulated curcumin + piperin bread

Curcumin: bioavailability human study

Samples HPLC-MS/MS analysis

Curcuminoids curcumin, desmethoxyicurcumin, bisdesmethoxycurcumin

Curcumin metabolites

curcumin- glucurconide, curcumin sulfate, hesahydroxycurcumin glucuronide, tetrahydrocurcumin

Phenolic acids ferulic acid, clorogenic acid, vanilic acid, HPA, diHPA, HPP

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

SERUM URINE FECES

Am

ount

(v

aria

tion

from

FC

)

Curcumin metabolites Free Curcumin

Encapsulated Curcumin

Encapsulated Curcumin + Piperine

x 100

0 0.5

1 1.5

2 2.5

3 3.5

4 4.5

5

SERUM URINE FECES

Am

ount

(v

aria

tion

from

FC

)

Phenolic acids Free Curcumin Encapsulated Curcumin Encapsulated Curcumin + Piperine

Conclusions •  Encapsulation technology has the potential to

bring many innovations in food productions •  New encapsulation techniques and new coating

materials will allow to increase the number of applications

•  Science-based proves of efficacy will remain the bottleneck for market approval.

•  The regulatory issues about the safety of nanoencapsulated products can be solved explaining the nature of the encapsulated ingredients

Thank you for your attention

The Nanofoods Team Eyal Shimoni Technion (Israel) Vural Gokmen Hacettepe (Turkey) Saul Koder Karmat (Israel) Jordi Reguant La Morella Nut (Spain) Johnny Baldoni Pastificio Amato (Italy) Göktay Taş MERK bakery (Turkey)