The study, published in the journal Nutraceuticals, highlights the potential of liposomal technology to overcome vitamin C absorption challenges and suggests standalone benefits of the liposomal material itself.
“The results suggest that LEC [Liposomal vitamin C] provides antioxidant and immune benefits above AA [ascorbic acid], useful in preventive medicine,” wrote researchers from NIS Labs in Canada and the USA.
Liposomal technology
Liposomal technology has gained attention as an effective innovation in delivery systems to improve bioavailability.
Liposomes are tiny, spherical vesicles made from lipid bilayers similar to cell membranes. Because of their structure, they make ideal carrier systems for drugs and nutraceuticals, able to merge with the cell and deliver their contents.
As such, liposomal-based drug delivery systems are approved to treat diseases such as cancer and infections, and ingredients manufacturers are marketing them to offer formulators enhanced efficacy and absorption.
In the current study, the researchers highlight the challenges of absorbing vitamin C due to its solubility in water and the transport systems it relies on to absorb it from the gut.
“Vitamin C uptake requires transport across the gut epithelium to get into the blood circulation, and to cross cell membranes to get into cells in our body,” Dr. Gitte Jensen, founder and research director, NIS Labs, told Nutraingredients.
“Our clinical trial showed that this limitation can be bypassed when the vitamin is encapsulated into liposomal nanoparticles, where the vitamin is wrapped in beneficial phospholipids, such as phosphatidylcholine, a crucial component of our cell membranes.”
Implications for health
The study notes that vitamin C’s antioxidant properties have been linked to neuroprotection, cognitive support, and brain health. As a co-factor for collagen, vitamin C benefits tissue integrity, wound healing, and healthy aging.
Additionally, it acts as an epigenetic regulator influencing the immune system through kinase activation.
“We demonstrated rapid improvements in antioxidant status and immune system preparedness for pathogenic challenges, which suggests that consuming liposome-encapsulated vitamin C is valuable both in preventive health and during health challenges that are associated with oxidative stress,” commented Dr. Jensen.
Study details
The double-blinded, placebo-controlled cross-over study compared LEC to three controls: ascorbic acid (AA), the phospholipid fraction composing the liposome, and placebo. The goal was to evaluate LEC’s uptake, antioxidant, and immune-modulating effects.
The LEC uses the patented Lypo-Spheric technology marketed by LivOn Labs in the USA under the brand Altrient. The company also supplied the other test products and sponsored the study.
The researchers randomized twelve healthy participants to consume 1g of one of the four supplements at four separate clinic visits spaced one week apart. At the end of the study period each participant had taken all four supplement options in different sequences.
Blood samples were taken at baseline and two, four, and six hours after the test products or placebo, and the researchers evaluated the effects of the interventions using appropriate methods.
They found that both LEC and AA significantly increased blood plasma levels of vitamin C at all time points, but the LEC increase was 55% higher than that of AA at the two-hour time point.
Ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) at 2 hours was 3.6% for AA and 9% for LEC, so almost 3 times higher for LEC.
Cellular Antioxidant Protection (CAP-e) at 4 hours was 5.6% for AA and 10.5% for LEC, so almost 2 times higher for LEC.
When analyzing the DNA/RNA oxidation at 2 hours, the results showed an 11% reduction after consuming the phospholipids.
“The blood tests we used included vitamin C levels as well as antioxidant protection in various assays, including NIS Labs' patented method for cellular antioxidant protection (CAP-e). The phospholipids alone had significant anti-inflammatory effects within 2-6 hours, showing that the liposomal material has its own health benefits,” said Dr. Jensen.
Source: Nutraceuticals
2024, 4(4), 626-642; doi: 10.3390/nutraceuticals4040034
“Enhanced bioavailability and immune benefits of liposome-encapsulated vitamin C: a combination of the effects of ascorbic acid and phospholipid membranes.”
Authors: S.V. McGarry et al.
