{"id":13928,"date":"2017-12-18T07:18:43","date_gmt":"2017-12-18T07:18:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/?p=13928"},"modified":"2017-12-18T07:18:43","modified_gmt":"2017-12-18T07:18:43","slug":"getting-functional-proteins-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/getting-functional-proteins-b\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting functional proteins from A to B"},"content":{"rendered":"

A milk protein contained in gastro-resistant microcapsules could be used to give foods cancer-fighting, immune-boosting properties.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Microcapsule-protected functional proteins could one-day form a key part of human nutrition. Pictured: Calcium carbonate microparticles. After absorbing a functional molecule such as lactoferrin, these microparticles act as the core around which layers of gastro-protective coating can be built.
Reproduced from Ref. 1 and licensed under CC BY 4.0 \u00a9 2017 E. Kilic et al.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Scientists from A*STAR have developed a system to transport a functional protein to the tissues of the digestive tract where it may confer a range of health benefits. This overcomes previous obstacles where the molecules broke down before they could reach their target receptors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lactoferrin, found naturally in breastmilk, is a biologically active protein that provides vital support during early infancy. It also has anitmicrobial, anti-inflammatory and cancer-fighting properties, and can even help with weight loss. Adults, however, cannot benefit from dietary lactoferrin because the digestive enzymes and acid in their mature stomachs degrade the protein before it can reach the small intestine. It\u2019s there, says A*STAR\u2019s Maxim Kiryukhin, that lactoferrin\u2019s receptors are thought to absorb the protein and transport it to the lymphatic system, where it provides its beneficial effects.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kiryukhin, from the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, and his team have succeeded in protecting lactoferrin molecules on their journey through the stomach by coating them in layers of gastric-resistant casing. \u201cWe start with calcium carbonate microparticles. These are porous, and absorb lactoferrin to produce a \u2018core\u2019 around which we can build our protective shell,\u201d says Kiryukhin. \u201cThen, we dissolve the calcium carbonate, leaving the lactoferrin contained within micrometer-sized shells, designed to be stable within gastric fluid, but to degrade in intestinal fluid.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The shell utilizes eight alternating layers of bovine serum albumin and tannic acid grouped into four \u2018bilayers,\u2019 which, aside from offering protection, are also safe and cheap. Tannic acid also has its own antioxidant properties.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kiryukhin\u2019s team then performed both in vitro and in vivo studies, first using simulated digestive enzymes to verify the capsules\u2019 desired properties, before testing them in mice. In their mouse model, the scientists fluorescently labeled the protein so they could track it through the stages of digestion. They found high levels of lactoferrin in the small intestine and liver, verifying that the protein survived gastric digestion and was absorbed by the tissues of the intestine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kiryukhin says that his team is now assessing whether their process is commercially viable: \u201cWe\u2019re in discussions with several companies with regard to how we can move our technology forward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The A*STAR-affiliated researchers contributing to this research are from the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A milk protein contained in gastro-resistant microcapsules could be used to give foods cancer-fighting, immune-boosting properties. Scientists from A*STAR have developed a system to transport a functional protein to the tissues of the digestive tract where it may confer a range of health benefits. This overcomes previous obstacles where the molecules broke down before they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":13929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567.jpg",300,200,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567.jpg",300,200,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567.jpg",300,200,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567.jpg",300,200,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567.jpg",300,200,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567.jpg",300,200,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567.jpg",300,200,false],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567.jpg",300,200,false],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567.jpg",300,200,false],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567.jpg",300,200,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567.jpg",300,200,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567.jpg",95,63,false],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567.jpg",300,200,false],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567.jpg",96,64,false],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/5a0e585dcb0ce8156a8b4567.jpg",150,100,false]},"author_info":{"info":["Amrita Tuladhar"]},"category_info":"Research<\/a>","tag_info":"Research","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}