Changing the coating of vital micronutrients in vitamins and supplements could prevent malnutrition and related debilitating conditions that are prevalent in many developing countries.
Current supplements, which use additives like proteins and sugars to encapsulate the micronutrients, deteriorate when placed in boiling water.
Health experts from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation teamed with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, to find ways to repackage supplements to make them more stable and useful in the developing world.
After considering more than 50 kinds of polymer coatings, researchers settled on BMC, a previously FDA-approved food additive already widespread in foods. The BMC polymer has so far been tested successfully on a variety of nutrients, including zinc, iron, and vitamins A and D.
Lab testing, including mice trials, showed these substances could withstand boiling for two hours straight before breaking down on contact with stomach acids.These trials were followed by human trials of BMC-coated micronutrients. The first large-scale use of this new technology may take the form of encapsulated nutrient-fortified soups. Researchers are currently engaged in talks with food companies to possibly produce fortified bouillon cubes and similar offerings.
While most people in developed nations have no significant nutrition deficiencies, malnutrition remains a serious problem in less developed parts of the world. This is the cause of death for an estimated 45 percent of children under age 5 worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
Malnutrition has several potential signs and symptoms. In cases of undernutrition, children may show slow growth, failure to thrive, developmental delays, behavioral changes, including decreased attention, and muscle wasting. Tiredness, fatigue, slow wound healing, and even loss of appetite may occur. People with low incomes or poor access to food may be hit harder than others by malnutrition.
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