The company’s SeaGel technology achieves industry’s first encapsulation success with liquid curcumin
IFF has announced its encapsulation success with high viscosity liquid and semi-liquid nutritional ingredients in softgel dietary supplement applications. This technical breakthrough — a first in the industry —allows manufacturers to develop robust, quality, plant-based soft-shell capsules that match the performance of traditional animal-based gelatin for complex ingredients, and meet an increasing consumer need for plant-based supplements.
IFF’s latest capability to encapsulate NovaSOL Curcumin and NovaSOL Curcumin/Boswellia from AQUANOVA AG, a German-based B2B manufacturer of liquid colloidal formulations, demonstrates the company’s softgel technology solutions for dietary supplements. This is AQUANOVA’s first successful encapsulation of their products in a vegan softgel format.
“The importance of SeaGel cannot be understated when supporting the delivery of ingredients of such high viscosity such as liquid curcumin,” said Benjamin Roscoe, application development and innovation manager at IFF. “We are thrilled with this new breakthrough in one of the most technically challenging aspects in plant-based softgels.”
Globally, SeaGel has been used in non-gelatine soft capsules containing a wide range of nutrient ingredients for decades. Its film strength, elasticity and performance match that of animal-derived gelatine, delivering encapsulation efficiency and seal strength. Plant-based ingredients, however, can be difficult to deliver, especially in softgel applications due to complex development and formulation challenges.
“More and more consumers are replacing their intake of animal-based products with plant-based alternatives and we have been searching for solutions to meet this demand,” said Frank Behnam, CEO of AQUANOVA AG. “Our proprietary NovaSOL technology significantly enhances the efficacy and application scope of natural ingredients. The ability to encapsulate NovaSOL in a vegan softgel using SeaGel is a significant milestone and we are very excited about this achievement.”
