Ethylcellulose oleogel as a prolonged release delivery system for probiotics. Development and validation of a cold-mixing method
Zhang, Lingping LU ; Wahlgren, Marie LU
; Oscarsson, Elin
LU
and Bergenståhl, Björn
LU
(2025)
In Food Hydrocolloids
166.
- Abstract
Ethylcellulose thickened oil (EC oleogels) has a significant retarding effect on lipolysis and may be used for controlled-release formulations. However, the high temperature (above 150 °C) used during the gel-forming process becomes an obvious limitation that hinders the application of EC oleogels to temperature-sensitive active ingredients. A cold-mixing procedure that could allow for an encapsulation at a temperature of around 40 °C is proposed in this study. A warm solution of EC in oil is allowed to cool down, and just before the gelation, the solution is mixed with a cool oil dispersion of the heat-sensitive ingredient. The temperature drops, and the gel is solidifying within a few minutes. The evaluation shows that the oleogels... (More)
Ethylcellulose thickened oil (EC oleogels) has a significant retarding effect on lipolysis and may be used for controlled-release formulations. However, the high temperature (above 150 °C) used during the gel-forming process becomes an obvious limitation that hinders the application of EC oleogels to temperature-sensitive active ingredients. A cold-mixing procedure that could allow for an encapsulation at a temperature of around 40 °C is proposed in this study. A warm solution of EC in oil is allowed to cool down, and just before the gelation, the solution is mixed with a cool oil dispersion of the heat-sensitive ingredient. The temperature drops, and the gel is solidifying within a few minutes. The evaluation shows that the oleogels formed have a lower hardness and oil entrapment than the hot-mixed EC oleogels. However, the gel character remains, displaying a comparable digestion resistance. There is a limited loss of viability of the probiotics when encapsulated in the oleogels, about 50 %. The loss of viability when released from a cold-mixed oleogel under digestive conditions becomes about 90 % due to the detrimental digestive environment. This observation can be compared to 99 % loss when released from oil under digestive conditions. Thus, the in vitro evaluation of an EC oleogel suggests that systems formed after cold-mixing can provide prolonged delivery of oxygen and bile-sensitive bioactive ingredients without exposing them to detrimental temperatures during the formulation.
(Less)
- author
- Zhang, Lingping
LU
; Wahlgren, Marie
LU
; Oscarsson, Elin
LU
and Bergenståhl, Björn
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-10
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Encapsulation, Ethylcellulose, In vitro release, Limosilactobacillus reuteri, Oleogels, Prolonged release
- in
- Food Hydrocolloids
- volume
- 166
- article number
- 111339
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105000378687
- ISSN
- 0268-005X
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.foodhyd.2025.111339
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 53f1b4f7-b2f5-4aac-ad42-8209c5b593db
- date added to LUP
- 2026-01-13 13:49:35
- date last changed
- 2026-01-13 13:49:57
@article{53f1b4f7-b2f5-4aac-ad42-8209c5b593db,
abstract = {{<p>Ethylcellulose thickened oil (EC oleogels) has a significant retarding effect on lipolysis and may be used for controlled-release formulations. However, the high temperature (above 150 °C) used during the gel-forming process becomes an obvious limitation that hinders the application of EC oleogels to temperature-sensitive active ingredients. A cold-mixing procedure that could allow for an encapsulation at a temperature of around 40 °C is proposed in this study. A warm solution of EC in oil is allowed to cool down, and just before the gelation, the solution is mixed with a cool oil dispersion of the heat-sensitive ingredient. The temperature drops, and the gel is solidifying within a few minutes. The evaluation shows that the oleogels formed have a lower hardness and oil entrapment than the hot-mixed EC oleogels. However, the gel character remains, displaying a comparable digestion resistance. There is a limited loss of viability of the probiotics when encapsulated in the oleogels, about 50 %. The loss of viability when released from a cold-mixed oleogel under digestive conditions becomes about 90 % due to the detrimental digestive environment. This observation can be compared to 99 % loss when released from oil under digestive conditions. Thus, the in vitro evaluation of an EC oleogel suggests that systems formed after cold-mixing can provide prolonged delivery of oxygen and bile-sensitive bioactive ingredients without exposing them to detrimental temperatures during the formulation.</p>}},
author = {{Zhang, Lingping and Wahlgren, Marie and Oscarsson, Elin and Bergenståhl, Björn}},
issn = {{0268-005X}},
keywords = {{Encapsulation; Ethylcellulose; In vitro release; Limosilactobacillus reuteri; Oleogels; Prolonged release}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Food Hydrocolloids}},
title = {{Ethylcellulose oleogel as a prolonged release delivery system for probiotics. Development and validation of a cold-mixing method}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodhyd.2025.111339}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.foodhyd.2025.111339}},
volume = {{166}},
year = {{2025}},
}