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Barley protein microparticles as nutraceutical delivery systems
L. CHEN (1). (1) University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Incorporation of nutraceuticals into the diet provides a convenient approach to create functional foods to improve public health and/or reduce the risk of chronic disease. The effectiveness of such foods relies on preserving the nutraceutical bioactivities prior to absorption. This represents a great challenge given that a large proportion of these compounds are unstable during food processing, under storage conditions or in the human stomach. Furthermore, some compounds remain poorly bioavailable after oral administration. This research reported a novel nutraceutical encapsulation system using barley protein as a wall material. Solid microcapsules were able to form in aqueous solution by a pre-emulsifying step followed by a high pressure homogenization treatment. No organic solvent or cross-linking reagents were used in the preparation process. The oxidative stability of microencapsulated nutraceuticals was tested at both dry status and in aqueous solutions in an accelerated storage test. These cereal protein microcapsules possessed a strong ability to protect nutraceutical against oxidation, making them ideally suited for use in liquid/semi-liquid food systems. Food formulation tests confirmed their successful application in milk and yogurt for their respective shelf lives. In vitro degradation and release tests in the simulated gastro-intestinal (GI) tract revealed that these microcapsules can protect nutraceuticals in the harsh gastric juice, and deliver them to a simulated human intestinal tract intact, where they were degraded by pancreatic enzymes and steadily released the core ingredients. The results indicate that barley protein based microcapsules have high potential to be used as efficient nutraceutical delivery systems.
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