Fermentation of bioactive solid lipid nanoparticles by human gut microbiota

Pr. Raquel Madureira, from Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Portugal, will highlight the subject Fermentation of bioactive solid lipid nanoparticles by human gut microbiota, in her presentation at Porto Polyphenols 2016.

Pr. Madureira concludes her recent studies as follows: Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) can be used for the oral delivery of phenolic compounds in order to protect them from the harsh conditions of digestion and improve their bioavailability in the intestinal epithelium. Recently, the production and characterization of SLN loaded with rosmarinic acid and herbal extracts was performed for future use as functional food ingredients. On the other hand, a hot topic of the moment is the knowledge that diet components have a huge impact on gut microbiota viability and metabolic activity. Hence, this communication concerns the study of the effect of SLN and released phenolic compounds on gut microbiota. I will make an overview on the results of the fermentations in anaerobic batch cultures using volunteer human faeces during 48 h. The impact of these phenolic compounds free and encapsulated in SLN on the main gut bacterial groups population and metabolic activities will be discussed.