Encapsulation of tributyrin using various techniques to improve its intestinal delivery and sensory quality

Over 60 million Americans suffer from gastrointestinal (GI) tract related issues, which affect not only the quality of patients’ lives but also create a medical burden of over 140 billion USD per year. Tributyrin (TB), a source of butyrate, has been reported for its benefits to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. However, the controlled release of TB to supply butyrate at targeted sites in the GI tract is challenging. Furthermore, its application in foods is limited because of the characteristic bitter taste. Encapsulation has been widely reported to overcome such challenges in the food industry including enhancing the stability, controlling the release and masking the undesirable sensory properties of the encapsulated food materials, including flavors, lipids, and bioactive compounds. The overall goal of this study is to encapsulate tributyrin using various techniques to control its release in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and to reduce its bitterness perception for oral delivery to benefit population with various GI issues. Several encapsulation techniques have been employed to form the encapsulated TB including spray-drying with two and three fluid nozzles (2FN and 3FN, respectively), inclusion complexation and cross-linking of biopolymers. Various wall materials such as whey protein isolate (WPI), gamma-cyclodextrin (CD) and sodium alginate (AL) were selected based on their functionalities. The retention of TB and surface oil content were quantified to compare encapsulation efficiency. Physical properties of the capsules, which affect the behavior of capsules, were characterized. The properties included particle size, morphology, crystallinity, and molecular interaction. Most importantly, in-vitro release of TB in a simulated GI condition and the ability to mask bitterness were evaluated. It was found that the surface oil content of spray dried TB/WPI microcapsules can be significantly reduced using 3FN or by incorporating anhydrous milk fat, thus the encapsulation efficiency and reconstituted emulsion stability increased. TB and CD formed complex and the complex was successfully spray-dried with full retention of TB at 1:2 molar ratio of TB: CD. The TB/CD complex was highly fermentable to produce butyrate using ileum and colon contents collected from piglets. TB/CD/AL beads also provided full retention of TB and showed the most promising results in in-vitro digestion: it exhibited a controlled slow release of TB with 30 % TB retention after 2 hours in stomach and 2 hours in small intestinal conditions as well as successfully masked the bitterness of TB in oatmeal, making it a potential functional ingredient for the oral delivery of TB/butyrate to colon. Overall, different encapsulation methods provide TB contained capsules with different properties that can be used for various applications.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Food Science & Human Nutrition

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2020

Author dc:creator

• Shi, Xueqian

Contributors dc:contributor

• Lee, Youngsoo
• Cadwallader, Keith R
• Lee, Soo-Yeun
• Padua, Graciela

• Tributyrin
• butyrate
• encapsulation
• spray-drying
• 3-fluid nozzle
• bitterness masking
• controlled release
• in-vitro digestion
• whey protein isolate
• cyclodextrin
• alginate.

Statement dc:rights

• © 2019 Xueqian Shi

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/106467

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/106467