Regulatory considerations aside, the liposomal technology also hopes to tackle bioavailability challenges for the nutraceutical industry.
Working together with Oxford-based ingredient distributor Sibelius Natural Products, the spin-off from the University of Birmingham has developed seven ingredients made using the novel liposomal technology named as EncapSure.
Examples of these ingredients are lycopene, curcumin, fenugreek, milk thistle, and quercetin.
Although both companies are based in the UK, they will be focusing on the Asia-Pacific markets for the launch of their liposomal ingredients.
A reason is because their liposomal technology does not use certain excipients that are under restricted use in certain Asia-Pacific markets, which the companies believe is a key selling point for their liposomal ingredients.
Silicon dioxide is an example of an excipient that is under restricted use in countries like Japan, where the maximum amount allowed in foods is 2%, Chris Meaney, sales and marketing director at Sibelius Natural Products told NutraIngredients at the sidelines of Vitafoods Asia 2025.
The ingredients made using the liposomal technology was introduced to business partners at the show held in Bangkok last week.
“We’re launching ingredients made using EncapSure at Vitafoods Asia,” he said.
“The reason being some of our existing products like lycopene still carry excipients like silicon dioxide, but we can move away from using these excipients through the new liposomal technology and make these ingredients more applicable for the Asian markets.”
In fact, LipoActive, a spin-off from the University of Birmingham, was founded through a collaborative effort to improve an existing dietary supplement ingredient from the company, and later led to the creation of EncapSure.
Striving for clean label
The liposomal technology also does away with the use of excipients like baking agents and polyethylene glycol (PEG).
Shawn Khan, CEO of LipoActive said that the idea was to use clean label excipients.
“What we’ve looked at is the excipients, which tend to be issues in certain countries, like silicon dioxide, magnesium stearate, baking agents, polypropylene glycerol, and PEG.
“We have designed the liposomal technology using clean label excipients, which means the excipients that we use are commonly used around the world.
“Thus, we would not have issues with building one product for APAC and another one for North America, since we use clean excipients,” he said.
The technology
Liposomal technology has been around for the past five decades, but LipoActive believes more could be done to refine the technology.
Aside cutting the use of certain excipients, LipoActive has re-engineered the liposomal making process so as to prevent damage arising from harsh processes.
“We’ve found a way to keep the integrity of the molecule, so that they do not get damaged, and at the same time, encapsulate them and turn them into a powder, which is far more convenient,” said Khan.
The liposomal technology comprises of two steps: 1) to make the liposomes and 2) to turn it into powder.
Like conventional liposomal technologies, the company uses standard ingredients like phosphatidyl-choline and phosphatidyl-serine derived from sunflower oil in making the liposomal structure.
However, it has developed a new technology in making liposomes without using harsh processes, said Khan.
“To make liposomes, the encapsulating molecule needs to be either vibrated or crushed or undergo some form of pressure. It has to react to form a liposomal bubble,” he said.
Such processes, however, could make the active ingredients contained inside the encapsulating materials unstable, he said.
As such, the company has re-engineered the process such that liposomal bubbles can be formed without destabilizing the active ingredients, and the company is in the process of patenting the technique.
“The mechanism we use when forming the liposome bubbles only makes the encapsulation materials comprising of phosphatidyl-choline and phosphatidyl-serine unstable.
“The active ingredients encapsulated within the encapsulation materials stay stable in the process of forming the liposomal bubble, and this is a technique that we are looking to patent,” he said, adding that the technique is based on knowledge in physics, chemistry, and biochemistry.
The second step is to turn the liposomal liquid mixture into powder, which Khan said was achieved not via conventional methods like freeze drying, belt drying, or spray drying - processes which he said could damage the liposomes.
“Liposomes are very delicate structures. As with any fat structures, they will melt if you heat them, they will shatter if you freeze them.
“The way we make it into powder is not by using those traditional processes which are out there, but by developing our own process which we are also looking to patent,” he said.
