Reactive oxygen species (ROS) cause an important damage of cells and inner tissues, which add to not only the aging process, but also the development of degenerative diseases, such as cancer, heart disease or cataracts.
These free radicals, ROS, are generated as result of our normal metabolism, but their production is increased by the effect of ultraviolet radiation, smoking, alcohol, ischemia-reperfusion, inflammation, etc.
Antioxidants
Dietary antioxidants (AO) can help in the fight against the oxidative damage as a reinforcement of our endogenous antioxidant systems, while providing additional health benefits such as anti-inflammatory effect, enhanced digestion, protection against gastric ulcers and anticancer properties.
AnaBio said encapsulating antioxidant compounds safeguards well-being and vitality.
According to the company, its EnCaptiZing technology provides microencapsulation of AO compounds, which provides important benefits for the application of these compounds, such as enhanced bioavailability and target delivery; protection from external factors such as air (oxygen), light and high temperature; longer shelf-life due to enhanced stability; decrease in volatile-loses; improved solubility; and a broader application in food products and supplementation due to flavor-masking effect.
Examples of compounds the new technology can deliver through microencapsulation include turmeric (curcumin), which has a wide number of health benefits.
The utilization of curcumin for food supplementation can be challenged by its low water solubility, poor chemical stability, and low oral bioavailability. Microencapsulation of curcumin in delivery systems appears to be a promising solution for enhancing the application of the powerful antioxidant, AnaBio said.
Ginger also exhibits a strong antioxidant activity, due to its main components 6-gingerol, 6-shogaol, 8-gingerol and 10- gingerol. Traditionally, ginger rhizome has been used in herbal medicine due to its anti-inflammatory properties, and as a treatment for arthritis, atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, etc. Ginger extract has been also reported to show a protective effect against Helicobacter pylori induced ulcers.
However, the pharmacological activities of ginger or 6-gingerol are compromised due to its poor pharmacokinetic properties. After oral administration, 6-gingerol is rapidly absorbed into the plasma, which makes it necessary to design a microencapsulated slow release system.
Ginger also contains an important content in volatile ginger oils, and its microencapsulation would avoid loses due to evaporation, enhancing the stability of the product and providing flavor-masking.
Rosemary has been traditionally used not only to prevent fat oxidation, but also due to its medicinal properties as anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, treatment of headaches, etc. Carnosic acid is the main phenolic compound present in rosemary leaves.
The microencapsulation of rosemary extract allows the application of the extract for food supplementation, providing a flavor-masking effect, a gain in stability during storage and a decrease in volatile loses.
Green tea (Camellia sinensis) is a beverage widely consumed in all the world, and is rich in strong antioxidant compounds. Amongst its health benefits, green tea has been broadly studied due to its cancer chemopreventive properties, heart benefits and cardiovascular disease prevention.
However, the beneficial effects of green tea extract can be reduced by loses due to the effect of high temperatures and evaporation; its microencapsulation can assure a higher stability of the product.
Tocopherols are the main form of the well-known antioxidant Vitamin E, with alpha-tocopherol the most abundant form. The addition of tocopherols to foods can increase the nutritional value, while synthetic forms of vitamin E are also used as supplements. Due to their strong antioxidant effect, tocopherols have also been deeply studied in their anticancer properties.
However, due to their antioxidant lipophilic nature, tocopherols are highly sensitive to oxygen, and also temperature, humidity and light. Microencapsulation presents itself as a solution to enhance the stability of tocopherols.
Commercial director
To coincide with the EnCaptZing launch, the company has also hired Dr Aidan Fitzsimons as its commercial director.
Fitzsimons has experience commercializing food ingredients and innovative technologies from a variety of roles in Ireland, France, UK and US. He joins from Dairygold Food Ingredients where he held a number of senior management positions since 2004.
Previous to that he worked in sales and R&D roles in Greencore and Ornua.
Fitzsimons said he was thrilled to be joining the AnaBio team at “such an exciting time in the company’s development, and am really looking forward to working with my new colleagues to bring the consumer benefits offered by AnaBio’s technologies to existing and new customers around the globe.”
Sinead Bleiel, CEO, said, “We are delighted to welcome Aidan, who has a proven track record in business development and commercialization. With Aidan’s support, AnaBio will soon be running and winning marathons on the global platform of functional foods and therapeutics. At AnaBio our motto is “Dream Big” and we will continue to implement this value with Aidan’s participation.”
