Nanoencapsulation approaches for oral delivery of vitamin A

Abstract

Vitamin A is essential to human health. Encapsulation in lipid nanoparticles was used to overcome vitamin A poor water solubility in beverages. This work aimed to develop and characterize lipid nanoparticles, containing vitamin A, for food fortification, assuring its stability and oral bioaccessibility. Lipid nanoparticles optimized for the oral administration of vitamin A using the hot homogenization method. The nanoparticles subjected to conditions used in food processing suffered no changes in their size or vitamin content. In vitro assays simulating gastrointestinal digestion suggested that the nanoparticles are not altered in the stomach, and the biocompatibility of the formulations showed no toxicity in fibroblasts. With the developed nanoparticles 80% of the added vitamin reached the intestine in the digestibility assay, demonstrating suitability as a nanotechnology application in the food research for the food industry.

Keywords: Bioaccessibility in vitro digestibility; Biocompatibility; Nanoencapsulation; Nanostructured lipid carriers; Solid lipid nanoparticles.