Bioavailability Estimation of Alginate/Chitosan Beads using a Simulated Human Intestinal System

Plant polyphenol compounds have been considered nutritionally important recently. However, achieving successful delivery of flavonoids and phytoestrogens via the oral route is particularly difficult, due to the formiable enzymatic and transport barriers in the gastrointestinal tract. Polymer-based delivery systems that trap molecules of interest within networks have been develpoed extensively for the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields. Natural polymeric materials can be used as delivery systems of bioactive agents because of their excellent safety, biocompatibility and biodegradation. Protein hydrogels are the most convenient and widely used matrix in food application. Recently, interest in developing protein micro particles as delivery systems has grown and various kinds of animal proteins have been investigated, including gelatin, collagen, casein, albumin and whey protein in addition to plant proteins such as soy glycinin, zein and wheat gliadin. There are so far no delivery systems for foods which designed to enhance the efficiency and stability of bioactive agents. In the present study, using alginate and chitosan as polymeric delivery system, and sugar, soy protein isolate and catechin as core materials, alginate/chitosan beads were prepared by encapsulator (IE-50R Inotech, Switzerland), and then the bioavailability estimation was investigated using a simulated human intestine system (SHIS). The digestion kinetics were also investigated in comparison with a starch, soy protein isolate and catechin in the SHIS.