2020 Volume 20 Issue 2 Pages 53-60
In recent years, attention has been focused on functional foods due to heightened health awareness. We are conducting drug delivery system research to ensure the safety of food ingredients and enhance their effectiveness from the viewpoint of “a healthy diet and medicine are equally impor tant for health”. It is known that β-carotene has useful physiological activities such as a strong antioxidant action and a source of vitamin A in the body. However, since it hardly dissolves in water, it has poor gastrointestinal absorbability and is difficult to use as an efficient functional food material. We have succeeded in greatly increasing the water-solubility of β-carotene and the absorption from the gastrointestinal tract by applying our unique amorphization technology. Our technology, which can be easily prepared without the use of organic solvents, is suitable for functional food development using poorly water-soluble compounds, and it therefore has high utility value.
