Lipofoods creates soluble curcumin for beauty beverages
New Curcushine is a natural, vegan and 'highly soluble' ingredient made with a neutral taste as the firm aims to offer something easily incorporated into nutricosmetics and beauty drinks.
The product was created in a licensing agreement with the Italian R&D company, Sphera Encapsulation S.R.L - a firm dedicated to the research and development of nano- and micro-encapsulation strategies.
Gianni Zoccatelli, CEO of Sphera, says creating a highly soluble turmeric ingredient is challenging, therefore most curcumin ingredients on the market are water-dispersible, rather than water-soluble.
He says Sphera was able to overcome this challenge by developing an innovative technology that can turn hydrophobic active ingredients into soluble microcapsules via exclusive coating materials and processing.
“Sphera’s proprietary technology is key to fulfilling the increased demand for better-for-you products in new delivery systems,” he explains.
"The delivery system transforms the curcumin into a highly bioavailable formulation using a completely natural encapsulant matrix that protects and embeds the curcumin.
"The increased bioavailability of Curcushine microcapsules can be attributed to the superior solubility in water due to the small dimension of the particles."
The firm will launch the product at Vitafoods Europe in Geneva on May 7-9.
How it works
Zoccatelli says the ageing process is driven by the accumulation of 'molecular damages', mainly due to Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) produced by mitochondria, as well as random errors in DNA replication.
"Measurement of ROS levels is a good predictor of oxidative stress and can be used to test the anti-oxidant properties in live cells," he explains.
"Curcumin has been shown to delay skin ageing by protecting the skin’s structures and proteins — including collagen and elastin — from oxidative and inflammatory damage.
"The antioxidant properties of curcumin can reduce ROS in cells and eliminate the effects of advanced glycation species (AGEs) on the divergent regulation of gene expression of receptors."
