Nutraceuticals and Natural Medicine

The demand for nutraceuticals is increasing everyday due to the greater market awareness and acceptance. Product taste, texture and packaging matter when it comes to consumer purchasing decisions, although taste is the most important driver of the nutraceutical product. Many ingredients have a bland taste or change the food’s texture once they are added. This is a particular problem for omega-3s. Also, some nutrients are incompatible with base products. For example Astaxanthin or Vitamin E are not water-soluble and is difficult to mix into existing products. Stability and shelf life are important factors as well since many nutrients are unstable and sensitive to light and can react with other ingredients to degrade nutrients. The current Technion research provide methods for entrapment of hydrophobic nutraceuticals within re-assembled casein micelles, protecting the bioactive during processing, shelf life and digestion, providing high bio-availability. New technologies are suitable for excellent protection against EGCG deterioration (including neutral and higher pH) in any food. Novel technology for the use of sugar beet pectin nanoparticles, commercially sourced to entrap and protect poor water soluble bioactive in aqueous solutions.