食品伙伴网导读：英国赫尔大学的研究表明，用中空的花粉孢子囊来包裹ω- 3多不饱和脂肪酸EPA的话，会增加这种多不饱和脂肪酸的生物利用率。EPA（二十碳五烯酸）是一种长链的ω- 3脂肪酸，通常的来源是鱼类和海产品中，长久以来有很多针对其对人体的保健作用的研究，尤其是有益于心脑血管健康。
微囊化的ω- 3因为可以解决鱼油带来的气味和味道的问题，在食品和食物强化剂工业中已经被用作抗氧化剂。但是少有关于微囊化以促进生物利用率的的研究，而来自赫尔大学的研究队伍所做的这方面的研究发表于脂质（Lipids）杂志。
研究者使用的是欧洲石松的孢粉外孢壁做实验材料。在试验中，与用乙酸乙酯包埋的EPA相比，使用石松孢粉外孢壁所微囊化的EPA的生物利用率有明显的提高。
据悉，该研究成果目前没有广泛的商业应用，但是有跨国公司正在自己的实验室里对该成果进行验证，并试图进行扩大试验。并且，若使用常见的黑麦或玉米花粉的话，则会降低生产成本。
食品伙伴网编者注：因为孢子以及花粉的问题请教了上海师范大学植物学专业硕士在读且研究方向为蕨类植物的姜楠同学，姜楠同学称，石松是一种蕨类植物，文中的花粉孢子翻译成孢粉则更加贴切一些，而黑麦和玉米则是花粉。在此对姜楠同学表示感谢。
编者注：根据我国著作权法第二章第二节 第十二条 改编、翻译、注释、整理已有作品而产生的作品，其著作权由改编、翻译、注释、整理人享有。本文的中文内容由食品伙伴网翻译整理，如需转载请将此段文字一起转载，并标明原始出处为食品伙伴网，否则我们将依法追究其法律责任。
原文导读：Pollen spores could enhance omega-3 bioavailability
By Jess Halliday, 27-Jul-2010
Hollowed-out pollen spores could be used to microencapsulate EPA omega-3 and make it more bioavailable, new research from the University of Hull suggests.
EPA (eicosapentasenoic acid), most commonly sourced from fish and seafood, is a long-chain omega-3 fatty acid much studied for its potential health benefits, especially for cardiovascular health.
Microencapsulated omega-3 ingredients are already used by the food and dietary supplements industry to prevent oxidation and deal with taste and odour issues associated with fish oils, but little research has been done in microencapsulation to boost bioavailability, the Hull team wrote in a paper published in the journal Lipids.
They set about investigating the potential of emptied-out pollen shells, known as exines, to be used as microencapsulation materials. Two of the researchers, Grahame Mackenzie and Professor Stephen Atkin, are involved in an enterprise spun out from the University of Hull called Sporodex, which provided the exines from Lycopodium clavatum, also known as club moss, for the study.
In the open-label study six healthy volunteers ingested 4.6g of fish oil with 20 percent EPA in the form of an ethyl ester, then as 1:1 microencapsulated powder of exines and fish oil.
The participants’ serum bioavailability was measured after each step. It was seen to be significantly higher with EPA from ethyl ester with exines than without exines.
Although the group was small, the researchers say the results are highly significant and warrant further in vitro and in vivo studies. At this stage the mechanism of action is not sure, but they hypothesise that it may be due to the “protective structure of fish oil-enriched exines whereby the whole unit could travel unhindered through the mucosal lining without releasing its inner core until it has entered the circulation”.
Sporodex’s exine technology is not currently available for commercial use, but Mackenzie told NutraIngredients.com that multinational companies are currently assessing the technology in their own laboratories, and others are looking at ways to scale up or provide companies with estimates of how much it would cost to produce the pollen on a commercial scale.
It is expected to be competitive with other forms of microencapsulation, however, and exines have the added advantage of having antioxidant capabilities of their own.
Mackenzie added that the cost would be lower if readily available pollens were used, such as rye or maize.
日期：2010-07-28
