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| LSU AgCenter officials and others gather for the opening of the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering’s Bioprocessing and Colloidal Systems Laboratory. Shown here are: Dr. Dan Thomas, head of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Dr. David Boethel, vice-chancellor and director of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, Roger Husser, director of planning and facilities, and Gary Dunn, architect. |
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering’s Bioprocessing and Colloidal Systems Laboratory was held Feb. 28, 2007, on the Baton Rouge campus.
Research conducted in the laboratory consists of two thrusts, extraction of bioactive components from plant materials, such as Vitamin E from rice bran and isoflavones from soybeans, and efficient delivery of natural components including antioxidants, vitamins, and natural colorants via colloidal systems (i.e. nanoparticles). The research is relevant for food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries.
According to Dr. Cristina Sabliov, a Biological and Agricultural Engineering assistant professor, antioxidants and vitamins are fundamental for human health. Following extraction of natural antioxidants from plant materials (i.e. rice bran, soybeans), these components are prone to degradation and their bioavailability is limited by low absorption and degradation during delivery.
“The encapsulation of antioxidants and vitamins in polymeric nanoparticles is a promising way of improving the bioavailability of these components,” Sabliov said. “Nanoparticles can be designed to deliver the antioxidant/vitamin to the specific site of action with minimal degradation of the bioactive component during delivery. The antioxidant/vitamin is then potentially released in a controlled manner by controlling the degradation profile of the polymer, or by using ‘smart’ polymers which interact with the cell environment (temperature, pH, enzymes, ionic strength, and other) in a predictable way.”
Natural antioxidants like Vitamin E (α-tocopherol), Vitamin C, flavonoids (i.e. quercitin, catequin, among others), are compounds which could prevent diseases associated with oxidative stress, among which cardiovascular diseases, atherosclerosis, and cancer are the most prevalent.
“Antioxidants can prevent these diseases by reducing the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and thus limiting cell damage by ROS,” Sabliov said. “Polymeric nanoparticles developed in our laboratory can potentially be used as controlled delivery and release devices for bioactive components in biomedical, cosmetic, food, and pharmaceutical applications.
“The impact of the technology is vast. Bioactive food components have been associated with the prevention and/or treatment of chronic diseases such as cancer, coronary heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and osteoporosis. Successful encapsulation and delivery of bioactive components, such as Vitamin E, extracted from plant materials, such as rice bran, in polymeric nanoparticles can bring new revenues to the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries.”
The laboratory is located in the Agriculture Engineering Research Shop Building on the LSU campus.