Liquid Food Composition Semi-Solidification in Stomach
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gelation techniques for liquid foods used in tube feeding are inadequate in maintaining physical properties during dilution, ease of intake, storage stability, and preventing tube clogging, with existing solutions requiring additional preparation time and effort and often resulting in altered physical properties and clogging issues.
Innovation Solution
A liquid food composition is developed that includes alginic acid, a calcium or magnesium compound with poor solubility, soybean protein, and an emulsifier like lysolecithin, which is semi-solidified in the stomach, maintaining a liquid state during preparation and storage, and preventing clogging, while ensuring nutritional adequacy and ease of intake.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a gelling agent containing gellan gum and alginic acid is added to tube feeding nutrition food for semi-solidification, then the food can prevent gastroesophageal reflux and aspiration pneumonia, but water must be further added requiring preparation time and effort, and the physical properties are greatly altered from the original food
Solution Approach 1:
The gelling agent is pre-mixed with the nutrition food during manufacturing to create a semi-solidified product ready for immediate use. This preliminary action eliminates the need for adding water or further preparation at the time of feeding, while maintaining the original food's physical properties and ensuring reliable prevention of gastroesophageal reflux and aspiration pneumonia.
2Ease of operation
If carrageenan is added as a semi-solidifying agent to achieve flowability for tube feeding, then the food can be administered through tubes, but it requires certain force for passing through the tube and may cause tube clogging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the viscosity parameters of the nutrition food by controlling the concentration and type of gelling agent used during manufacturing. This creates a semi-solidified product with balanced flow properties that can pass through tubes easily without requiring excessive force, thereby preventing tube clogging while maintaining ease of operation.
3Ease of manufacture
If a gelling agent is preliminarily mixed in food to provide a one-pack type product, then the product is convenient for storage and distribution, but the food may solidify with time during storage
Solution Approach 1:
The gelling agent is pre-mixed with the nutrition food during manufacturing to create a stable semi-solidified product. This preliminary action ensures uniform distribution and prevents solidification during storage while maintaining the one-pack convenience for storage and distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the concentration and type of gelling agent to maintain a balance between semi-solidification and storage stability. This creates a product that remains pumpable and does not solidify during storage, while still providing the convenience of a one-pack type product.
4Ease of operation
If liquid nutrition food is used for enteral nutrition administration, then the administration is simple and bowel function can be maintained, but it may cause gastroesophageal reflux disease, aspiration pneumonia, diarrheal disease, or leakage from fistula
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state parameter of the nutrition food from liquid to semi-solidified by incorporating gelling agents during manufacturing. This creates a product that maintains ease of administration through tubes while preventing gastroesophageal reflux, aspiration pneumonia, and other harmful effects associated with liquid nutrition foods.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The composition provides a stable, nutritionally balanced liquid food that is easily taken, prevents tube clogging, and maintains a uniform consistency during storage, enhancing swallowing ease and preventing gastroesophageal reflux and other gastrointestinal issues.
Implementation Method 1
a liquid food composition which is semi-solidified in an acidic region and comprises a water-soluble dietary fiber (a), a metal compound (b) containing a calcium and a magnesium compound having poor solubility in the neutral region
Implementation Method 2
The liquid food composition has a pH of more than 5.5 and 10 or less and comprises a water-soluble dietary fiber (a), a metal compound (b) containing a calcium and a magnesium compound having poor solubility in the neutral region
Data Source
Figure 1(a)~1(b)
Figure 2(a)~2(b)
Figure 3(a)~3(b)
AI summary
Provided is a liquid food composition capable of semi-solidifying in the stomach, which is a one-pack type product containing a water-soluble dietary fiber preliminarily added thereto and in the form of a liquid that can be easily taken, and stably sustains the liquid nature thereof during distribution and storage. The liquid food composition, which is capable of semi-solidifying in an acidic region, comprises a water-soluble dietary fiber (a), a specific metal compound (b), a protein (c) and an emulsifier (d), and the particle size distribution of particles contained in said liquid food composition shows two or more peaks in a neutral region.