GB708160A - Improvements in or relating to vitamin-containing products - Google Patents

Abstract

A vitamin A preparation in the form of beadlets is prepared by dispersing a crystalline form of vitamin A, preferably the acetate or other ester, in a solution containing gelatin, gum acacia, pectin; tragacanth &c., and a sugar-like material, e.g. molasses or honey, suspending the dispersion in an oil in the form of small beadlets, and chilling the oil suspension, say, to 10 DEG C, to gel the beadlets. Suitable oils are corn oil, soyabean oil, cotton oil, sesame oil and mineral oil. The aqueous suspension may be heated above the melting point of the vitamin, which crystallizes on cooling the oil suspension. Particularly during the heating stage, the suspension should be blanketed with an inert gas, e.g. carbon dioxide or nitrogen. Boiled (air-free) water should be used for preparing the suspension. The separated beadlets are partially dehydrated by treatment with acetone, ethanol, dioxane, or isopropanol, which liquids may in addition be added to the cooled oil, and thereafter dried on trays at room temperature in a low humidity atmosphere. They are thereafter washed with acetone and air-dried. In one example, the ingredients are mixed in a turbine-type homogenizer, and thereafter introduced into the oil in fine droplet form by being fed into a cylinder formed at its bottom with fine holes and rotating in the oil. Specifications 490,001, 491,212 and 541,663 are referred to.