CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 FA) have shown beneficial effects on different pathologies, as cardiovascular and skin diseases. Therefore, food supplementation with these fatty acids has emerged in the market. However, these types of foods are shelf limited due to omega-3 FA low oxidative stability. Recently, liposomes have appeared as a promising technology to protect these molecules: they are biocompatible vesicles, which can be covered with bioadhesive compounds for enhanced bioavailability. The objectives of the present work were to formulate liposomes containing omega-3 fatty acids, to characterize them in size and morphology and to evaluate the effect of physical treatments (ultraturrax and sonication) in size distribution. In addition, the morphology of liposomes coated with whey or caseins from different milks (cow, sheep and goat) was characterized. Liposomes were formulated following the technique of film hydration utilizing phosphatidylcholine, cholesterol, esters of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), at a final concentration of 2.68 mg/ml, 0.16 mg/ml and 1.7 mg/ml, respectively. Size distribution was measured by dynamic light scattering, morphology by transmission electronic microscopy TEM and FA by gas chromatography. Vesicles obtained had 5 um size, which diminished to 60 nm after physical treatments. Liposomes encapsulation efficiency was 30% and 20% for EPA and DHA, respectively. As for morphology, liposomes without coating showed to be spherical and maintained high structural integrity; in turn, coated liposomes showed an irregular shape. The present work constitutes a preliminary study of liposome structures containing omega-3 FA with a view of potential applications in food formulations.