The ProTarget coating is designed for the targeted release of high numbers of viable probiotics in the intestine, whilst protecting them from gastric acid as they pass through the stomach.
The coating is based on ingredients that are already approved for food supplements use in the EU.
Niels Peter Bak, Bifodan business development manager, told Nutraingredients.com that ProTarget was already being used in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia but the focus now was on Europe as a whole.
Bak said: “We see a great potential so we have proven with independent trials that the protection mechanism and the release mechanism works well and gives significant protection to bacteria as they travel through the stomach.”
Bak said gastro resistant capsules are not new but many are only for pharmaceutical use. Similarly, there are other technologies on the market for food supplements, such as microencapsulating probiotics.
However, he added: “The unique thing about this (ProTarget) is, to the best of our knowledge, it is the only enteric coating specifically developed for probiotics and uses ingredients that are also for use with food supplements.”
According to the FAO, probiotics are defined as live microorganisms that, in adequate amount, confer a health benefit on the host, and this means passing through the gastrointestinal tract alive, and in sufficient numbers.
Many probiotic strains are sensitive to gastrsic acid and some may not survive the passage through the stomach in adequate numbers to have a positive impact.
Bak said ProTarget was specifically adapted for probiotics and therefore had to meet several challenges.
Firstly it must provide protection on the surface of the capsule without damaging the bacteria inside. Also, it must not dissolve in the acidic stomach environment, but when exposed to the PH environment of the intestine it should release.
Bak added that it was PH dependent so once it reached the intestines, where ph is about 6.8, the capsule would dissolve.
He highlighted trials that showed improved survival, as 90 per cent of the bacteria remained after acid treatment using the coating but uncoated, less than 1 per cent remained.
Although he would not be specific about the ingredients used for the coating, Bak said it was based on ingredients that are approved for food supplements use in the EU, so a significant number of probiotic capsules, currently on the market, can benefit from ProTarget.
Microencapsulation has been explored by numerous companies as a way of enhancing gastrointestinal transit of specific probiotic strains, and for prolonging the shelf-life of strains in certain foods.
One study found that encapsulating probiotic bacteria in alginate-coated gelatin microspheres could protect against the stomach and upper intestine.
Another demonstrated that coating probiotic bacterial strains with alginate, then applying an extra coating of palm oil and poly-L-lysine, could significantly improve the viability of the bacteria.