GB2324457A

GB2324457A - Nutritional supplement

Info

Publication number: GB2324457A
Application number: GB9708495A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nigel Terence Plummer
Original assignee: CULTECH Ltd
Current assignee: CULTECH Ltd
Priority date: 1997-04-26
Filing date: 1997-04-26
Publication date: 1998-10-28
Anticipated expiration: 2017-04-26
Also published as: GB2324457B; GB9708495D0

Abstract

A nutritional supplement has a droplet 22 of nutritional oil such as borage, cod liver or evening primrose oil. This is coated with an emulsifying agent such as lecithin. The droplet is then microencapsulated in a layer of modified starch, such as vegetable oligosaccharide. Similar droplets 20 are formed from essential oils. The droplets 20 are smaller than the droplet 22 so that the essential oil coats the nutritional oil, rather than the other way round. The presence of the microencapsulation and the smaller droplets, together with an appropriate choice of materials, enables properties of taste, texture and aroma of the nutritional oil to be masked, thus allowing adequate dosages to be administered without unpalatable properties.

Description

Nutritional Supplement The present invention relates to nutritional supplements.

The invention provides a method of forming a nutritional supplement, in which a first oil is emulsified to form a first emulsion of droplets, and the first emulsion droplets are coated to mask a property of the oil when ingested.

Preferably the taste and/or texture and/or aroma of the oil is masked.

The mask coating may be provided by droplets of a second emulsion, preferably an emulsified oil and preferably having droplets smaller than those of the first emulsion.

The droplets of the first and/or second emulsion may be encapsulated by a protective coating before the emulsions are introduced to each other. The protective coating may protect against degradation by oxygen and/or ultraviolet light. The protective coating may comprise an oligosaccharide.

Preferably an emulsification agent, such as lecithin, is used in the preparation of the first and/or second emulsion.

The first oil may be a nutritional oil, such as borage, cod liver oil, an evening primrose oil, or an anti-microbial oil, such as oregano, wormwood, ginger grass or grape seed oil. The mask coating may comprise an essential oil such as a citrus or herb oil.

Preferably the nutritional supplement is dried, such as by freeze drying or spray drying.

N The invention also provides a nutritional supplement, $,;Rprising a first emulsified oil, the droplets being coated to mask a proerty,6f the oil when ingested.

Preferably the taste and/or texture and/or aroma of the oil is masked.

The mask coating may be provided by droplets of a second emulsion such as a second emulsified oil, which may have droplets smaller than those of the first emulsion.

Preferably the droplets of the first and/or second emulsion are encapsulated by a protective coating, such as a coating to protect against degradation by oxygen and/or ultraviolet light. The protective coating may comprise an oligosaccharide.

The first oil is preferably a nutritional oil, such as borage, cod liver oil or evening primrose oil, or may be an anti-microbial oil, such as oregano, wormwood, ginger grass or grape seed oil. The mask coating preferably comprises an essential oil such as a citrus or herb oil.

The nutritional supplement may be dried, such as by freeze drying or spray drying.

Examples of the present invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a highly schematic diagram of a first emulsion droplet for use in forming a nutritional supplement; Fig. 2 shows the droplet of Fig. 1 when coated; Fig. 3 shows the droplet of Fig. 2 being further coated by droplets from a second emulsion; and Fig. 4 shows the final emulsion.

Various oils are known or suspected to have nutritional or anti-microbial properties and thus to be beneficial as part of a diet, or by way of dietary supplementation. Examples are evening primrose oil, borage oil (gamma linoleic acid), cod liver oil and other fish oil, and the like. Intake of these oils may need to be relatively high, even for healthy individuals. For instance, as much as 1 7g of a polyunsaturated fatty acid might be required to provide an adequate intake of Omega-6 fatty acids for an average healthy adult. A problem therefore arises in relation to the delivery of these oils, in view of the unpalatable nature of a number of them, which have unpleasant odours, textures, flavours, or other unpalatable properties.

An example of the present invention will now be described in relation to delivery of a nutritional oil, but it is to be understood that an anti-microbial oil could be substituted.

The nutritional oil, such as borage, cod liver or evening primrose oil, is first emulsified into water. This can be done by using a conventional high shear mixer and may be assisted by using an emulsifying agent such as lecithin. The setting of the mixing apparatus is chosen to create a stable emulsion with a drop size which may be in the region of 5-10 microns. One such droplet 10 is illustrated in Fig. 1. The oil 12 forms the core of the droplet 10 and is coated with a layer 14 of the emulsification agent such as lecithin.

The lecithin molecule has a lipid soluble end (illustrated by a straight line) which buries itself into the oil 12, and a water soluble head (indicated by a circle) which remains exposed at the outer surface of the droplet 10. The result is a micellised droplet. The emulsifying agent acts to repel other nonemulsified oil, thus producing a stable emulsion once all droplets are emulsified.

The droplet of Fig. 2 is then further encapsulated with a modified starch, such as a vegetable oligosaccharide. This results in an outer layer 16 illustrated as a series of relatively large circles. Sufficient oligosaccharide is provided to allow the entire outer surface of the micellised droplet to be coated. This is here termed "microencapsulation". . The oligosaccharide will have the effect of protecting the oil 12 from degradation by oxygen exposure, ultraviolet light or in other ways. The presence of the modified starch coating also serves to mask the flavour, odour and texture (or "mouth feel") of the oil 12.

The modified starch may be supplied to the emulsion while the emulsion is being agitated in the high shear mixer. The result is a viscous creamy liquid which, in one example, has the following approximate ratio of components: 2.5% lecithin 20% oil 40% water 37.5% modified starch.

It will be apparent to the skilled man that variations in these ratios can be used.

The process which has just been described is then repeated with a flavouring oil such as an essential oil of lemon, oil or another citrus fruit, or an essential oil of a herb, such as rosemary, oregano, wormwood, ginger grass or grape seed oil. That is, the flavouring oil is emulsified into water using a high shear mixer and preferably also with a natural emulsifying agent such as lecithin. The result is a second emulsion, again consisting of droplets around which a lecithin layer forms as depicted in Fig. 1. The droplets of the second emulsion are then further coated ("microencapsulated") by a modified starch 16 to produce a droplet as illustrated in Fig. 2. Ratios of emulsifying agent to oil, power levels and other settings of the high shear mixer are preferably kept the same during this process as during the production of the first emulsion.

However, the resulting droplet size will be smaller in view of the lighter nature of flavouring oils as compared with nutritional oils. In a typical example using a flavouring oil of the types mentioned above, the flavouring oil droplet size may be in the range 2-4 microns. If necessary, settings for the mixer should be changed in order to ensure that the flavouring oil has a smaller droplet size than the nutritional oil.

At this stage in the process, two microencapsulated emulsions have been formed, one from nutritional oil and one from flavouring oil, and the droplets of each have been coated for protection (by the emulsifying agent) and to mask one or more properties (by the modified starch).

These two emulsions of microencapsulated oil are then mixed, as illustrated in Fig. 3. It can be seen that the droplets of essential oil are smaller and more numerous than the droplets of nutritional oil. As both types of droplet move freely in the aqueous phase, the droplet size differential, and relative numbers, mean that each droplet of nutritional oil becomes surrounded by droplets of essential oil, effectively becoming coated. Fig. 3 shows the situation when four essential oil droplets 20 have already arrived around a larger nutritional oil droplet 22, while a fifth essential oil droplet 20 is approaching.

It is important that the essential oil droplet size is smaller than the nutritional oil droplet size in order to ensure that essential oil droplets coat nutritional oil droplets, and not the other way round.

Fig. 4 shows the final emulsion, in which the larger central droplet of nutritional oil is entirely surrounded by a coating of smaller essential oil droplets.

The flavour droplets have now coated the nutritional droplets and consequently, the flavour of the essential oil is presented to the tongue when the nutritional supplement so formed is ingested.

In a preferred arrangement, the mixed encapsulated emulsion which has just been described is then dried. Preferably freeze drying is used. This is a gentle process which is unlikely to disrupt the construction of the emulsion droplets and thus does not introduce flavour problems or otherwise damage the masking effect which has been produced. Alternatively, spray drying could be used but is likely to result in significant loss of volatile flavour components associated with the flavouring oil and could cause oxidation or heat degradation of the nutritional oil, particularly unsaturated fatty acid components.

In an example, the supplement may be freeze dried at -300C in a high vacuum. This will eliminate any heat or oxidation damage during the drying process. The encapsulated oils are left intact and in a stable dry form in which virtually none of the surface of the oil is exposed to oxidation or ultraviolet damage and thus degradation during storage is minimised, leading to a long shelf life.

The freeze dried powder may be milled into a free flowing powder, if desired.

For use, the powder can be reconstituted by adding it to water in which case the water will combine with the powder to re-form the emulsion of Fig. 4.

Alternatively, the powder can be added to other materials having a water content (or aqueous phase) such as fruit or vegetable juice.

If desired, additional nutrients can be added to the oils, such as fat soluble vitarnins A, D and E, and fat soluble carotenoids, which are considered to be valuable nutritional anti-oxidants. If further nutrients are required, they should be added to the oil prior to emulsification in order to be dissolved into the oil and thereafter processed along with the oil as described above.

By adding powder to a drink of water or other liquid with an aqueous phase, a single dose can deliver an amount of oil as low as 1g or as high as 20g, without aesthetic problems of taste, texture or aroma. In addition, the following advantages arise: - lipids in pre-emulsified form are more easily absorbed by the body than non emulsified oils.

- clinically efficacious doses of oils can be taken easily with a high level of consumer acceptance, because the product is pleasant to ingest.

- the process can be based around vegetable oils in order to be suitable for vegetarians, including vegans.

- the technique provides a highly cost effective form of delivery of large doses of oil and is likely to be much more economic than traditional delivery techniques of soft gelatin capsules.

The techniques described above can be used as the basis for supplying omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, including the three recognised essential fatty acids, arachidonic, linoleic and linolenic acids.

Examples of combinations of oils for practical use include the following: GLA (gamma linoleic acid) droplets may be coated with a herb oil such as basil, or a citric oil such as orange oil. Evening primrose oil droplets containing GLA can be coated with a herb such as rosemary or a citric oil such as lemon oil. Linseed oil, which provides a near perfect balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in concentrated form can be coated with basil or another herb, or orange or another fruit oil. Cod liver oil can be coated with rosemary or lemon oil for instance. Marine fish oil, including omega-3 fatty acid, can be coated with basil, lemon or orange oils.

Many variations and modifications can be made from the proposals set out above, and in particular, a wide range of alternative nutritional oils could be incorporated, flavoured with one of a wide range of flavouring oils. Details of the production steps can be varied according to the combination of oils being used and other factors such as the strength of an adverse characteristic to be masked, and the strength of the masking properties of the flavouring oil.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

1. A method of forming a nutritional supplement, in which a first oil is emulsified to form a first emulsion of droplets, and the first emulsion droplets are coated to mask a property of the oil when ingested.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the properties of the taste, texture and aroma of the oil is masked.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein masking is provided by droplets of a second emulsion.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the second emulsion is an emulsified oil.

5. A method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the second emulsion has droplets smaller than those of the first emulsion.

6. A method according to any of claims 3 to 5, wherein the droplets of at least one of the emulsions are encapsulated by a protective coating before the emulsions are introduced to each other.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the protective coating protects against degradation by oxygen.

8. A method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the protective coating protects against degradation by ultraviolet light.

9. A method according to claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein the protective coating comprises an oligosaccharide.

10. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein an emulsification agent is used in the preparation of the or at least one of the emulsions.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the emulsification agent is lecithin.

12. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the first oil is a nutritional oil.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the first oil is borage, cod liver oil, or an evening primrose oil.

14. A method according to any of claims 1 to 12, wherein the first oil is an anti-microbial oil.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein the first oil is oregano, wormwood, ginger grass or grape seed oil.

16. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the mask coating comprises an essential oil.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein the mask coating is a citrus or herb oil.

18. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the nutritional supplement is dried.

19. A method according to claim 18, wherein the nutritional supplement is dried by freeze drying or spray drying.

20. A method of forming a nutritional supplement, substantially as described above with reference to the accompanying drawings.

21. A nutritional supplement comprising a first emulsified oil having droplets coated to mask a property of the oil when ingested.

22. A supplement according to claim 21, wherein at least one of the properties of taste, texture and aroma of the oil is masked.

23. A supplement according to claim 21 or 22, wherein masking is provided by droplets of a second emulsion.

24. A supplement according to claim 23, wherein the second emulsion is a second emulsified oil.

25. A supplement according to claim 23 or 24, wherein the second emulsion has droplets smaller than those of the first emulsion.

26. A supplement according to any of claims 23 to 25, wherein the droplets of at least one emulsion are encapsulated by a protective coating.

27. A supplement according to claim 26, wherein the protective coating protects against degradation by oxygen.

28. A supplement according to claim 26 or 27, wherein the protective coating protects against degradation by ultraviolet light.

29. A supplement according to any of claims 26 to 28, wherein the protective coating comprises an oligosaccharide.

30. A supplement according to any preceding claim, wherein the first oil is a nutritional oil.

31. A supplement according to claim 30, wherein the first oil is borage, cod liver oil or evening primrose oil.

32. A supplement according to any of claims 21 to 29, wherein the first oil is an anti-microbial oil.

33. A supplement according to claim 32, wherein the first oil is oregano, wormwood, ginger grass or grape seed oil.

34. A supplement according to any of claims 21 to 33, wherein the mask coating comprises an essential oil.

35. A supplement according to claim 34, wherein the mask coating is a citrus or herb oil.

36. A supplement according to any of claims 21 to 35, wherein the supplement is dried.

37. A supplement according to claim 36, wherein the supplement is dried by freeze drying or spray drying.

38. A supplement according to any of claims 21 to 37, wherein an emulsification agent is used in the preparation of the or at least one of the emulsions.

39. A supplement according to claim 38, wherein the emulsification agent is lecithin.

40. A supplement substantially as described above, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

41. Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter disclosed herein, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.