Tiny capsules made from plant protein and filled with vitamin D will soon be added to soft drinks, which were previously hard to fortify with the vitamin.
Vitamin D deficiency can cause bones to soften and increase the possibility of fractures. There is also some evidence that daily vitamin D supplements can reduce the risk of autoimmune disease, yet about a billion people globally do not get the minimum recommended amount. at the start-up in Cambridge, UK, and his colleagues believe that their technology could help.
They have devised a way to convert proteins from pea plants into a fully biodegradable and edible material. To do this, they first freeze-dry the proteins, then suspend them in an acid and apply heat until they become a soft gel. This gel dries into a tough but flexible and transparent material, Taylor explained in a presentation at the last month.
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The researchers say they can make microscopic capsules of this material, each containing a droplet of vitamin D oil. The capsule shields the vitamin D and prevents it from interacting with – and being destroyed by – other chemicals, making it a suitable way of fortifying soft drinks with the vitamin, says Xampla’s co-founder . “[Some] beverage formulations are aggressive, harsh environments because they are very acidic,” he says.
Additionally, the pea protein capsules protect the vitamin D from degradation by ultraviolet light, so fortified drinks can be packaged in clear plastic bottles – which the start-up’s partner, the beverage company Britivic, says people are .
Taylor says that manufacturing the microcapsules can be done at industrial scales with machines that are already commonly used, and many can be made from a modest amount of easily available pea protein. “We’ve scaled up our technology to be able to supply our customers with the required amount. We are working towards launching these fortified products in the market within the next few months” he says.
“If you’re not eating salmon every day, and having cod liver oil every day, you are not getting enough vitamin D. So, food fortification is critically important,” says at Boston University. However, he says that beverages like milk and orange juice are already often fortified with vitamin D so the value of Xampla’s capsules will have to be evaluated by studying whether and by how much they can increase levels of the vitamin in people’s bloodstream.
Xampla is also exploring other uses for its biodegradable materials. In 2021, the start-up to produce vegetable stock-filled sachets made of the same pea protein material that could be added to meals during cooking. Because its production process works with proteins from plants other than peas, Xampla’s researchers hope to use it to convert agricultural byproducts like rapeseed protein into inedible microcapsules to replace the plastic microcapsules currently used in cosmetics or cleaning products.
Article amended on 20 September 2023
We clarified the nature of Xampla’s material
