Project Overview

Zdravilne lastnosti granatnega jabolka so znane v številnih kulturah že dolgo časa, sam sadež pa je bil simbol zdravja in bogastva. Zdravilni učinki granatnega jabolka so bili zabeleženi tudi v medicini, in sicer pomaga pri zdravljenju in preprečevanju diabetesa, raka, srčno-žilnih bolezni in artritisa, ima pa tudi antimikrobne in protivnetne lastnosti ter blagodejno deluje na zdravje kože ter oralno zdravje. Poleg tega pa preprečuje in upočasnjuje staranje, saj vsebuje antioksidante, ki preprečujejo prostim radikalom, da bi se vključili v proces oksidacije, saj je ravno proces oksidacije tisti, ki je odgovoren za uničevanje zdravih celic v našem telesu.
Cilj raziskovalne naloge je bil pripraviti prehransko dopolnilo s sokom granatnega jabolka. Želeli smo učinkovito kapsulirati antioksidante, ki so v soku granatnega jabolka, ter preprečiti razgradnjo le-teh. Za doseg cilja smo uporabili metodi liofilizacije in mikrokapsulacije, s katerima smo antioksidante ohranili nespremenjene. Z mikrokapsulacijo smo suhi ekstrakt skupaj z inulinom ovili v polisaharidno mešanico za doseg dolgoročne stabilnost. Med mnogimi različnimi polisaharidi je bil izbran prav inulin in sicer zaradi svojih prebiotičnih lastnosti, ki so naredile naše prehransko dopolnilo še bolj zdravo. Končni rezultati so pokazali, da velikost mikrokapsul vpliva na hitrost in količino sproščenih antioksidantov. Ugotovili smo tudi, da koncentracija soka granatnega jabolka le do neke mere pozitivno vpliva na količino kapsuliranih antioksidantov. Z drugimi besedami, če povečamo koncentracijo antioksidantov, to še ne pomeni da bo tudi koncentracija le-teh v kapsulah višja.
Kljub temu, da najin končni produkt potrebuje še nekaj izboljšav, sva ga uspešno pripravili.

The beneficial effects of pomegranate have been known for centuries and the fruit itself has been a symbol of health and prosperity across many cultures. Pomegranate has reportedly been used medicinally to help prevent diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and arthritis. It also has anti-microbial properties, anti-inflammatory properties, improves skin health and oral health. In addition it also helps people age slower. That is because pomegranate (like many other fruits) contains antioxidants, which prevent free radicals in our body to engage in oxidation process that damages our cells. Our goal was to prepare a food supplement from pomegranate juice extract. We focused on successful encapsulation of antioxidants found in pomegranate juice to prevent them from decomposing. We used two methods: lyophilization and micro-encapsulation. We micro-capsulated this dry extract with inulin into a polysaccharide shell in order to achieve long term stability. From all the different polysaccharides, inulin was chosen because of its prebiotic properties, so our food supplement would have additional positive health effects. Results of our research suggest that the size of micro-capsules has an influence on the velocity and quantity of released anthocyanins and antioxidants. Furthermore, we discovered that the concentration of pomegranate juice has a limited impact on the elimination of anthocyanins and antioxidants. In other words, even though the concentration is higher, it does not mean that the amount of anthocyanins and antioxidants in micro-capsules will also be higher.

Even though we still need to determine a repeatable method with the optimal conditions which would enable the highest possible efficiency of the process, we managed to successefully prepare microcapsules.