Consumers are not always getting the benefits they think they are through consuming nutraceuticals or using cosmeceuticals. Until now, that is. A new development by two scientists in Jerusalem is helping the human body make the most of plant-based nutrients. They have established a company to bridge the gap between scientific theory and consumer-driven industry. just-food.com’s Aaron Priel found out how it all works.
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Since ancient times, man has known that plants contain elements beneficial to health. The problem, however, is how to release those elements into the body in order to derive the maximum benefit.
All that could soon be changing however, as Professor Nissim Garti, from the Casali Institute of Applied Chemistry, part of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Fredy and Nadine Herman Graduate School of Applied Science, and his associate Dr Abraham Aserin, have developed what they refer to as “nanovehicles” to improve the delivery of nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals into the body’s blood stream and tissues.
“Nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals are natural materials, mainly derived from plants, which have health benefits. Many of them are not soluble in water and or oils and therefore are difficult for the body to absorb,” essor Garti explained.
Absorbing challenges
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By GlobalDataHe added that today nutraceuticals are often taken in capsule form, or as food additives, in the hope that the nutraceutical will be a beneficial diet additive.“However,” he warned: “The effect of this is generally marginal, even though there may be some advantage over normal consumption through a balanced diet.” Most of these nutraceuticals are not absorbed but are simply flushed through the body’s digestive system. The same is true of the cosmeceuticals, such as face creams, which also are not efficiently absorbed.
The ‘nanovehicles’ developed by Garti and Aserin are microemulsions made out of water, oil, an emulsifier and sometimes with alcohol as a co-solvent. “The microemulsions, or nanoemulsions, are more stable than regular emulsions and can absorb a significantly higher amount of the active beneficial material from plant sources than a regular emulsion,” Garti explained: “Nanodroplets of the microemulsion bind with nanoparticles of the nutraceutical nanoparticles through membranes, and release them upon reaching their destination.”
The microemulsions are highly dilutable and can also be turned into powders. As a result, Garti explained that they can be used as liquid or powder food additives or taken on their own. He added that each microemulsion must be specifically designed to suit the nutraceutical. This, in his opinion, involves extensive research using highly sophisticated equipment that will allow the researchers to study the nanostructure of the new vehicles and the locus of the nutraceutical at the interface.
Bridging the gap
Garti and Aserin, in cooperation with the Yissum research and development company, an Australian investor and Ashkelon Technology Initiative, have established a start-up called NutraLease, which focuses on designing such vehicles. Their clients include several major US food companies and pharmaceutical firms, which have asked for vehicles for several nutraceuticals, including lycopene, which can lower the risk of contracting prostate or breast cancer, and slow down signs of aging; phytosterol, which helps prevent the accumulation of cholesterol; and lutein, which retard cataract growth.
Yissum, a private company wholly owned by the Hebrew University, serves as a bridge between the University and industry. It aims, according to the University’s spokeswoman Heidi Gleit, to develop business links between them that will allow the results of research at the University advance to commercial ventures.
Apposite applications
Time magazine published a comprehensive report on 21 January about the health benefits of some potent vegetables and other food items. Among these it listed tomatoes as a primary source, noting that several studies have linked the cooked tomatoes in ketchup, soups and sauces to a reduced risk of prostate cancer and other cancers of the digestive tract. Tomatoes contain lycopene, “probably the most powerful anti-oxidant among the carotenoids,” The compound that turn fruits and vegetables deep orange. “is so good at mopping up free radicals that lycopene outperforms the best known carotenoid of them all, beta-carotene,” according to Time.
Meanwhile, a report by Frost & Sullivan published on 14 January says that since December 1995, when researchers at New York’s Harvard University first suggested the existence of a link between a diet rich in tomato and a decreased incidence of prostate cancer, “significant media attention has been directed at produce like ketchup and tomato soup”. The report says that the seemingly remarkable health benefits of tomatoes originate from a substance called lycopene.
It further states that continued research over the last five years has resulted in an ever-increasing body of evidence suggesting that lycopene may help to prevent cancer. “There is even evidence suggesting that lycopene results in a lower risk of coronary heart disease, reducing risk of heart attacks by lowering blood cholesterol, and reduced incidence of macular degenerative disease, a common cause of blindness in old age,” Frost & Sullivan’s report says.
The report adds that currently, by far the largest manufacturer of pure lycopene extract is Lycored Natural Products Industries in Israel. Their product, Lycomato, is primarily used as a nutritional supplement. “Lycomato is manufactured using tomatoes that have been selectively bred – no GMO involved – to contain 3-4 times the usual amount of lycopene,” says the report.
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The extremely small amount of lycopene present in tomatoes often discourages manufacturers from entering the market for natural lycopene, however. “Hoffmann-La Roche AG has developed a synthetic method for the manufacture of natural-identical lycopene, but this has yet to be accepted for use in food by the EU.”
The report concludes by saying that the substantial levels of growth currently demonstrated by the functional foods market, combined with the increased consumer awareness of the health benefits of lycopene, “will surely result in an increased demand. If the supply can only meet demand, then lycopene supplements could become as familiar as a daily vitamin pill.” And if Garti and Aserin’s method to allow the body to fully absorb nutrients can be made to deliver the benefits of lycopene, the possibilities for the industry and consumers are endless.
By Aaron Priel, just-food.com correspondent
