Probiotic Stability in Oily Nutraceutical Emulsions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Probiotics, such as lactobacilli, face vitality loss due to uncontrolled processing conditions, gastric juices, and instability in oily formulations, which affect their efficacy in reaching the intestine intact.
Innovation Solution
Nutraceutical compositions containing probiotics in an oily vehicle with sorbitan ester, ascorbyl palmitate salt, and silica, which form a stable emulsion that protects microorganisms and maintains vitality, using a simple and cost-effective preparation process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If probiotics are administered in liquid formulations with water, then they are easy to prepare and administer, but their stability decreases due to water content impairing microorganism stability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of the formulation from aqueous to oily, replacing water as the vehicle with oil. This parameter change fundamentally alters the stability characteristics while maintaining administerability, as oil provides a more stable environment for probiotic microorganisms during storage and administration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite materials by combining oil with specific stabilizing agents (silica and surfactants) to create an oily formulation that provides both stability and administerability. The silica and surfactants work together with the oil to protect microorganisms while maintaining ease of administration.
2Reliability
If probiotics are protected from gastric juices using coatings, then their delivery to the intestine is improved, but the complexity of the formulation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The oily formulation serves multiple functions simultaneously: it stabilizes microorganisms during storage, protects them from gastric juices during administration, and provides ease of administration. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate protective coatings, reducing formulation complexity while maintaining protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The oil acts as an intermediary medium that protects probiotics from the harmful gastric environment. Rather than using complex protective coatings, the oil formulation creates a protective barrier that allows microorganisms to survive passage through the stomach and reach the intestine.
3Reliability
If silica is added to oily formulations to reduce water content, then microorganism stability is improved, but the formulation becomes difficult to redisperse in water
Solution Approach 1:
Surfactants act as intermediaries that bridge the oily formulation and aqueous environment. These surface-active agents reduce the interfacial tension between oil and water, enabling easy redispersion of the oily formulation in water without compromising the stability benefits provided by the oil and silica combination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the surface properties of the oily formulation by incorporating surfactants, which change the interfacial characteristics and enable redispersibility in water. This parameter change maintains the stability benefits of the oily system while adding the desired redispersibility characteristic.
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 compositions ensure the stability and vitality of probiotics over time, even at high temperatures and humidity, and protect them from gastric juices, allowing effective delivery to the intestine, with a simple and cost-effective industrial process.
Implementation Method 1
The compositions according to the invention contain an oily vehicle, in particular a medium-chain triglyceride, in a quantity of between 89.5 and 99.7% (w/w), a sorbitan ester, in particular polysorbate 80, in a quantity of between 0.1 and 5.0% (w/w), ascorbyl palmitate in a quantity of between 0.1 and 1.0% (w/w) and silica, in particular fumed silica, in a quantity of between 0.1 and 10.0% (w/w)... they contain a sorbitan ester, an ascorbyl palmitate salt and silica
Implementation Method 2
nutraceutical compositions containing probiotics in an oily vehicle... containing an oily vehicle, in particular a medium-chain triglyceride... a sorbitan ester, in particular polysorbate 80... ascorbyl palmitate... which form a stable emulsion that protects microorganisms
Data Source
AI summary
The invention concerns nutraceutical compositions based on probiotic microorganisms in an oily vehicle, characterized in that they contain an ascorbyl palmitate salt, a sorbitan ester and silica. Such compositions are advantageous since they allow a high vitality of the microorganisms to be maintained both during storage and after administering and they can be prepared with a process that is simple and cost-effective from the industrial point of view.