An Encapsulated Vitamin A Palmitate Powder with Improved Stability for Use in Food Fortification

Background

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a serious health concern, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Food fortification is hindered by the instability of vitamin A.

Objective

To develop a dry form of vitamin A palmitate (VAP) with improved stability compared to marketed products. This powder could be employed for large-scale food fortification to help prevent VAD.

Methods

VAP is emulsified with a variety of food-grade ingredients, including basic methacrylate copolymer (BMC). A spray-dried BMC-encapsulated VAP (PFH-VAP) was produced using laboratory-scale equipment. Subsets were assessed for determination of the VAP content and VAP recovery after cooking in water. Another subset was subjected to accelerated stability testing. Two high-performance formulations were produced at the pilot scale. The two most promising PFH-VAP formulations and a commercially available vitamin A product were each incorporated into bouillon cubes, stored (40 °C, 75% relative humidity), and subjected to stability testing.

Results

The optimized laboratory-scale formulations exhibited >90% VAP recovery after cooking. The pilot-scale batches showed 95% and 65% VAP recoveries after cooking and accelerated stability testing, respectively. After 12 months of stability testing, 70% and 68% VAP recoveries were achieved for the pilot-scale batches of PFH-VAP-fortified bouillon. A 15% VAP recovery was obtained from the bouillon fortified with a commercial product.

Conclusions

PFH-VAP demonstrated a substantial stability advantage over an existing commercial formulation of VAP in a proof-of-concept food vehicle (bouillon). The use of PFH-VAP could increase the nutritional and health benefits of vitamin A-fortified foods and condiments.

The Development of a More Stable Formulation of Vitamin A Palmitate Could Help Food Fortification Programs

Vitamin A deficiency is a major health problem in some parts of the world. Adding vitamin A to commonly consumed foods (i.e., fortifying) is one way of addressing this issue. However, vitamin A is unstable, and its effectiveness decreases when exposed to heat, humidity, air, and light. This instability significantly limits the benefits of vitamin A-fortified foods. Previous experiments have shown that the use of an ingredient called basic methacrylate copolymer (BMC) to encapsulate vitamin A makes it more stable. The development program reported herein is based on these earlier results. The vitamin A palmitate (VAP) encapsulated in BMC was named PFH-VAP. Different preparations of PFH-VAP were prepared by combining VAP and BMC with other food-grade ingredients in small quantities in the laboratory. These formulations were stored at different temperatures and humidity levels and tested for stability. Promising formulations were prepared in large amounts in a manufacturing facility to determine whether the process could be scaled up. The samples were stored again and tested to determine their stabilities. To examine how PFH-VAP performed when added to food, the two most promising formulations were mixed into bouillon cubes. Bouillon was chosen because it is a popular food in West Africa, where high levels of vitamin A deficiency are present. The PFH-VAP bouillon cubes were stored at high temperatures and humidities similar to those found in some parts of Africa. After 12 months of storage under the same conditions, significantly more vitamin A was present in the PFH-VAP-fortified bouillon than in the bouillon fortified with a commercial vitamin A product. The use of PFH-VAP for food fortification could provide nutritional and health benefits to vitamin A-fortified foods. Future studies will focus on increasing the production scale and testing the absorption of vitamin A from PFH-VAP-fortified bouillons using clinical studies.

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Table 2. Manufacturing materials

An Encapsulated Vitamin A Palmitate Powder with Improved Stability for Use in Food Fortification, [version 1], Samantha Brady, Elsa Abou Jaoude, Julie Wyns, Haisong Yang, Justyna Ebbesen3, Elise Ivarsen3, Julie Straub4, Jérôme Vallejo2, Don Chickering, First published: 07 May 2025, 2:89, https://doi.org/10.12688/verixiv.866.1