Subtopic 2 - FG 5

PROTEIN AND STARCH AS

THE CARRIER IN A
CONTROLLED DELIVERY
SYSTEM AND METHOD OF
PREPARATION

Elyda Aprilia (2106633582)

 10.1
INTRODUCTION
Nutraceuticals are food compounds with health benefits that offer excellent benefits opportunities to
improve public health.
List of potential nutraceuticals products include vitamins, probiotics, bioactive peptides, antioxidants,
etc.
The effectiveness of nutraceutical products in preventing diseases depends on preserving the
bioavailability of the active ingredients.
The delivery of these molecules require food formulators and manufacturers to provide protective
mechanisms that both maintain the active molecular form until the time of consumption and deliver
this form to the physiological target within the organism.
For this reason, a protein-based food matrix was developed to be served as a carrier for the controlled
release of functional food components.

Chapter 10 - Food-Protein-Derived Materials and Their Use as Carriers and Delivery Systems for Active Food Components
 10.2
FOOD PROTEIN HYDROGELS AS
NUTRACEUTICAL CARRIERS

One strategy has been developed to protect and deliver

bioactive molecules, namely trapping molecules of interest in
hydrogels.
A hydrogel is obtained by swelling an infinite network of
hydrophilic polymers with a large amount of water without
loss of network structure.
Hydrogels have been studied because of their ability to protect
drugs from hostile environments and to deliver them in
response to environmental stimuli such as changes in pH and polymer-based hydrogels
(Source: azolifesciences.com)
temperature.

Chapter 10 - Food-Protein-Derived Materials and Their Use as Carriers and Delivery Systems for Active Food Components
 10.2.1
ENVIRONMENT-SENSITIVE FOOD
PROTEIN HYDROGELS
Swelling properties
Food protein hydrogels are examples of polyelectrolyte networks swelling in water and retaining significant amounts
of water within their structure. Their ability to absorb water is due to the presence of ionizable groups such as
carboxylic acid, sulfonic acid, or amine groups that render the polymer more hydrophilic.

Biodegradation properties
The degradation mechanism in orally administered products are hydrolytic breakdown catalyzed by digestive enzymes.
Food proteins break down to peptides, some of which may be bioactive and exert physiological effects in vivo, for
example on the gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, endocrine, immune and nervous systems

Binding properties
Protein hydrogel is not an inert polymer delivery system since it can interact with a wide range of active compounds
because of the affinity of these compounds for gel-constituting proteins. The binding properties are dependant on the
molecular structure of protein which under appropriate conditions (pH, temperature, ionic strength, etc.).

Chapter 10 - Food-Protein-Derived Materials and Their Use as Carriers and Delivery Systems for Active Food Components
 10.2.2
FOOD PROTEIN HYDROGEL
FORMATION
The most popular hydrogel obtained from food proteins and used as a
delivery carrier for active compounds is certainly gelatin-based
hydrogel.
Gelatin alone forms physical hydrogels in response to temperature
change. However, these have poor mechanical and chemical stability,
necessitating crosslinking agents or mixing with other polymers.
gelation achieved through heat treatment. However, since many
nutraceutical molecules would be irreversibly inactivated by exposure
to the degree of heating involved, a method for producing food protein
hydrogels under much milder conditions are required.
Gelatin-based covalently crosslinked hydrogel
(Source: igb.fraunhofer.de)

cold-induced gelation of globular whey proteins and soybean proteins

can be achieved by adding Ca^2+ ions to a predenatured protein
suspension.

Chapter 10 - Food-Protein-Derived Materials and Their Use as Carriers and Delivery Systems for Active Food Components
 10.3
FOOD PROTEIN MICRO- AND
NANOPARTICLES
Micro and sub-micro particles are defined generally as particles less than about 1000 μm
in size and which may be substantially less than 1 μm in diameter.
The advantages of micro and sub-micro particles are their ability to control the release
rate of the incorporated materials and deliver them to the right place at the right time.
During the past two decades, interest in developing protein micro (sub-micro) particles as
delivery systems has grown, and various kinds of animal proteins have been investigated,
including gelatin, collagen, casein, albumin, and whey protein. in addition to plant
proteins such as soy glycinin, zein, and wheat gliadin.
a great variety of processes have been developed to prepare protein-based micro (sub-
micro) particles, including extrusion, emulsificationstabilization, spray drying and
coacervation.

Chapter 10 - Food-Protein-Derived Materials and Their Use as Carriers and Delivery Systems for Active Food Components
 10.3.1
TECHNIQUES OF MICRO (SUB-MICRO)
PARTICLE PREPARATION

Extrusion is a convenient process for encapsulating bioactive

compounds in food protein matrices and these provide good barrier
Extrusion properties. The smallest particles so produced are about 1 mm in
diameter.

The emulsification-stabilization technique is a two-step

process comprising the emulsification of a protein solution
Emulsification/
containing the encapsulated substance, followed by particle
stabilization process
hardening by protein precipitation using a crosslinking
agent or by changing the pH and temperature.

Chapter 10 - Food-Protein-Derived Materials and Their Use as Carriers and Delivery Systems for Active Food Components
 10.3.1
TECHNIQUES OF MICRO (SUB-MICRO)
PARTICLE PREPARATION

Spray drying is a method of preparing protein microparticles free

of organic solvent residues. Protein solutions are typically
Spray drying pumped into a drying chamber and pneumatically atomized
through a two-fluid external mixing nozzle using compressed air.
Spray drying can reduce particle diameter to less than 5 μm.

Coacervation is suited to the formation of particles of sub-micron size in

the range of 20 nm to 300 μm. The process essentially involves changing
Coacervation the physicochemical environment of a protein in aqueous solution to
cause varying degrees of phase separation of the protein depending on its
molecular weight, isoelectric point, and compatibility with solvents.

Chapter 10 - Food-Protein-Derived Materials and Their Use as Carriers and Delivery Systems for Active Food Components
 10.3.2
EXAMPLES OF FOOD PROTEIN MICRO
(SUB-MICRO) PARTICLE CONTROLLED
RELEASE SYSTEMS

Vitamins Microorganisms Macromolecules

Vitamins are naturally occurring
compounds present in most foods.
However, they are generally
sensitive to light, pH, and
oxidation.
Example:
Riboflavin incorporated into whey
protein microparticles of diameters
ranging from 3 to 10 µm
homogeneously distributed within
an alginate matrix.
The microorganisms tend to be
sensitive to many environmental
conditions including acidic pH.
Example:
Protein-polysaccharide gel beads
and food-grade water-insoluble
microcapsules have been used to
increase the survival
bifidobacteria during transit
through the GI tract
They are easily degradable both
chemically and enzymatically, and
may also lose their biological activity
through conformational changes and
aggregation.
Example:
A tetra-peptide was encapsulated in
50 µm alginate microspheres coated
of
with a serum albumin-alginate
membrane using an impregnation
technique comprising dropping the
peptide onto freeze-dried
microparticles.

Chapter 10 - Food-Protein-Derived Materials and Their Use as Carriers and Delivery Systems for Active Food Components
 10.3.2
EXAMPLES OF FOOD PROTEIN MICRO
(SUB-MICRO) PARTICLE CONTROLLED
RELEASE SYSTEMS
Unsaturated
Nanoparticles
fatty acids
They are limited by their high susceptibility to oxidative nanoparticles offer promising means of improving the
rancidity, which leads to the formation of off-flavors and bioavailability of nutraceutical compounds, especially
potentially toxic compounds. Unsaturated fatty acid poorly soluble substances such as functional lipids (e.g.
encapsulated in protein microparticles can be converted carotenoids, phytosterols, !-3 fatty acids), natural
to a stable powder form that is more resistant to antioxidants, and numerous other compounds that are widely
oxidation. used as active ingredients in various food products.

Example: proteins offer functional surface coatings for polymer

Omega-3 fatty acids have recently been encapsulated in nanoparticles, since they can complex with polysaccharides,
an emulsified pre-denatured whey protein matrix using lipids or othe polymers to increase particle circulation time
an extrusion method comprising dropping the emulsion in the GI tract or enhance their ability to penetrate the
into calcium chloride solution mucosa.

Chapter 10 - Food-Protein-Derived Materials and Their Use as Carriers and Delivery Systems for Active Food Components
 10.4
FUTURE TRENDS

Food proteins show great promise for developing and engineering a range of
new GRAS matrices with the potential to incorporate nutraceutical
compounds and provide controlled release via the oral route.

Food proteins can be used to prepare a wide range of matrices and multi-
component matrices in the form of hydrogel, micro- or nanoparticles.

Although protein hydrogels have been the subject of intensive research over
the years, nanoparticles are relatively new in the food industry. However, the
past decade has seen great advances in understanding of protein structure and
function and it can now be envisaged that knowledge of protein self-
assembly into nanostructures with controlled properties and high surface
area will rapidly improve.

Chapter 10 - Food-Protein-Derived Materials and Their Use as Carriers and Delivery Systems for Active Food Components
 REFERENCES
Garti, N. (2008). Delivery and controlled release of bioactives in foods and nutraceuticals. Cambridge:
Woodhead.
Hoyos-Leyva, J., Bello-Pérez, L., Alvarez-Ramirez, J. and Garcia, H., (2017). Microencapsulation using
starch as wall material: A review. Food Reviews International, 34(2), pp.148-161.
Keservani, R., Kesharwani, R. and Vyas, N. (2010). Nutraceutical and Functional Food as Future Food: a
Review. Der Pharmacia Lettre, 2(1), pp.106–116.
Lemos, P., Marcelino, H., Cardoso, L., Souza, C. and Druzian, J., (2021). Starch chemical modifications
applied to drug delivery systems: From fundamentals to FDA-approved raw materials. International
Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 184, pp.218-234.
Morán, D. et al. (2021) ‘Synthesis of Starch Nanoparticles and Their Applications for Bioactive
Compound Encapsulation’, Applied Sciences, 11(10), p. 4547. doi:10.3390/app11104547

Chapter 10 - Food-Protein-Derived Materials and Their Use as Carriers and Delivery Systems for Active Food Components
Terima Kasih