BioDelivery Sciences International (BDSI), a US company which specialises in nanotechnology for the pharmaceutical industry, has signed an agreement with a major processed foods manufacturer to collaborate on a project to determine whether the technology can be used to improve the nutritional content of food.
BDSI's Bioral technology has been focused on pharmaceuticals and vaccines, but the company now believes that other, non-prescription, commercial applications of its technology may be possible. BioDelivery Sciences' patented delivery vehicle is a naturally occurring lipid (phosphatidylserine) that can be obtained inexpensively from soy.
BioDelivery Sciences and the unnamed food processor are studying the use of the Bioral nanotechnology to improve delivery of micronutrients such as antioxidants. Naturally occurring antioxidants in raw fruits and vegetables are thought to provide significant health benefits, such as reduced risk of heart attack, stroke, neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.
However, studies show that most people do not eat enough fruit or vegetables to consume sufficient quantities of these antioxidants, prompting research into whether similar benefits can be garnered from the much more popular processed foods. Processed foods, however, generally have a far lower antioxidant content than the raw fruit and vegetables, and increasing this content by means of supplementation has been largely unsuccessful because of the fragile nature of the nutrients, which tend to degrade during the manufacturing process.
This is where BDSI believes its technology can be of use. It claims to have research which shows that its nanotechnology can protect antioxidants from degradation during manufacture and storage, and an initial feasibility study is already underway to determine the ability of its Bioral cochleate technology to deliver micronutrients in processed foods for pets.
BDSI said it had not yet entered into any royalty or licence agreements with regards to this potential market opportunity, but that it hoped to market Bioral to the food processing industry if the feasibility study proved a success. It added that other nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids, could benefit from the Bioral process.