Phase solubility studies and stability of cholesterol/ß-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes.

BACKGROUND: Cyclodextrins (CDs) are able to enhance the solubility, stability and bioavailability of several bioactive hydrophobic compounds by complex formation. They can also be used for removal of undesired components (such as cholesterol, off-flavors or bitter components) present in foods. Although many patents account for the use of cyclodextrins for removal of cholesterol from dairy foods, there is no available information on the effect of water on encapsulation efficiency and on the stability of sterols in CDs. The aim of this work was to study the inclusion properties and the factors affecting the encapsulation and stability of cholesterol in ß-cyclodextrin (BCD). The optimum encapsulation conditions (ligand-CD molar ratio, stirring time and temperature), and stability of the complexes as a function of storage time and water content were analyzed. RESULTS: Phase solubility study pointed out the formation of 1:1 stoichiometric complexes between cholesterol and ß-cyclodextrin, which was influenced by temperature variations. The process was shown to be exothermic and energetically favored. The presence of cholesterol greatly modified the BCD water sorption curves, being the amount of adsorbed water smaller in the combined systems. The principal 'driving force' for complex formation is the substitution of the high-enthalpy water molecules by an appropriate hydrophobic ligand. The freeze-dried complexes probed to be stable at different storage conditions. CONCLUSION: The phase solubility and stability data obtained could be essential for selecting the most suitable conditions when CDs are employed either for removing cholesterol or to incorporate functional ingredients (i.e. sitosterol) in the development of innovative food products.

Octanol-water partition coefficient of glucose, sucrose, and trehalose.

The octanol-water partition coefficients (P) of glucose, sucrose, and trehalose were measured at temperatures between 5 and 20 degrees C using an enzymatic method. The measured log P is compared with calculated and experimental data previously reported. In the case of trehalose, the measured log P differs considerably from the theoretically estimated values and agrees with the expected value for a disaccharide. Some methods of assessing the partition coefficients are also analyzed and it is concluded that the atom/fragment contribution method overestimates the hydrophilicity of disaccharides and, probably in a larger extension, that of trisaccharides. The knowledge of P for these sugars is valuable both for basic or applied purposes, including food and biomolecules stabilization.

Microscopy and calorimetry as complementary techniques to analyze sugar crystallization from amorphous systems.

A comparison of microscopic and macroscopic techniques to evaluate sugar crystallization kinetics is presented using amorphous lactose and lactose-trehalose mixtures. Polarized light video microscopy (PLV) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were applied to measure crystallization kinetics, induction times and time for complete sugar crystallization at different storage temperatures (60-95 degrees C). DSC was also employed to measure the glass transition temperature (T(ag)) of the systems. PLV permitted direct observation, in real time, of growth of individual crystals and morphological aspects at a scale not detected by DSC. Taking the average of several microscopic observations, the results for temperature dependence of crystallization rate and time to complete lactose crystallization were similar to those obtained by DSC. Both PLV and DSC techniques showed that the presence of trehalose delayed lactose crystallization, without affecting the T(ag) value. For the analysis of sugar crystallization in amorphous systems, PLV and DSC proved to be complementary techniques. Validation of results obtained by PLV with results from DSC opens a new area of microstructural analysis of crystallizing systems.