Solid composition
The present invention relates to a solid composition which contains a mixture of liquid oil and solid lipid. The solid lipid acts as a solid carrier vehicle for the oil thereby permitting oils to be provided, at relatively high loading, in solid form.
1 . A method of preparing a free flowing particulate solid composition, the method comprising:
forming a particulate dispersion or suspension by mixing together an oil component comprising one or more oils; a lipid component comprising one or more lipids; and an aqueous phase optionally comprising a surfactant;
isolating, from the particulate dispersion or suspension, free-flowing solid oil-loaded microparticles having an average particle size between 20 and 500 μm; and
wherein:
the isolated free-flowing solid oil-loaded microparticles comprise at least 10 wt % oil component co-mixed with at least 20 wt % lipid component, and the combination of the oil component and the lipid component constitutes at least 80 wt % of the total weight of the isolated free-flowing solid oil-loaded microparticles;
the oil component is a liquid at standard ambient temperature and pressure (SATP);
the lipid component and the solid composition are each independently solid at SATP; and
the lipid component has a melting point greater than or equal to 50° C. or the lipid constituting the largest proportion of the lipid component has a melting point greater than or equal to 50° C.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the oil component comprises one or more organic oils selected from animal oils, vegetable oils, and/or essential oils.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the lipid component comprises one or more fatty acid glycerides.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein at least 70 wt % of the lipid component consists of one or more fatty acid glycerides derived from one or more fatty acids.
5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein at least 40 wt % of the one or more fatty acid glycerides is/are derived from a single C 14 -C 28 saturated or unsaturated fatty acid.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the lipid component comprises a phospholipid.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein at most 5 wt % of the lipid component is phospholipid.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the solid composition is free of water-soluble surfactants.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the solid composition is an orally-administrable solid composition.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the solid composition comprises isolated oil-loaded microparticles having an average particle size between 70 and 300 μm, wherein each of the oil-loaded microparticles comprises an oil component, present at a concentration of at least 10 wt %, co-mixed with a lipid component, present at a concentration of at least 20 wt %, such that the oil component and the lipid component are present in a respective weight ratio of between 10:90 and 60:40.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
a single lipid constitutes at least 50 wt % of the total weight of the lipid component; or
at least 50 wt % of the lipid component consists of one or more fatty acid-based lipids derived from one or more fatty acids, wherein a single fatty acid constitutes at least 50 wt % of the total weight of fatty acid(s) present within the one or more fatty acid-based lipids.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the solid composition further comprises a nutraceutical ingredient or a pharmaceutically active ingredient.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the nutraceutical ingredient or a pharmaceutically active ingredient is pre-mixed with the oil component.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the oil component has a kinematic viscosity between 10 and 500 cSt at SATP.
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more organic oils comprises a marine oil.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the one or more organic oils comprises one or more omega-3 fatty acids or omega-3 fatty acid esters.
17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the solid composition comprises less than 15 wt % surface oil.
18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the solid composition is incorporated within a tablet.
19 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the oil component and the lipid component are present in a respective weight ratio of between 10:90 and 60:40.
20 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the lipid component is in its melted state during the mixing together.
21 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forming a particulate dispersion or suspension comprises mixing together the oil component and the lipid component to form an oil-lipid mixture and thereafter mixing the oil-lipid mixture with a pre-heated aqueous phase to produce an aqueous dispersion.
22 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the pre-heated aqueous phase is pre-heated at or above the melting point of the lipid component.
23 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the pre-heated aqueous phase comprises poloxamer 188.
24 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising cooling the aqueous dispersion to produce the particulate dispersion or suspension.
25 . The method of claim 24 , wherein the aqueous dispersion is agitated for at least 2 minutes following its formation, after which the aqueous dispersion is cooled to a temperature at or below 20° C. while being agitated.
26 . The method of claim 1 , wherein particles of solid composition are separated from the particulate dispersion or suspension via filtration, whereafter the particles of solid composition are collected.
27 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the degree of encapsulation, relative to the method's input ingredients, is greater than or equal to 40%, where degree of encapsulation is calculable via the equation:
D
e
=
E
o
I
o
where D e is the degree of encapsulation, which can be expressed as a percentage by multiplying by 100, E o is the weight of the oil component encapsulated within the solid composition product, and I o is the input weight of the oil component.
28 . A free flowing particulate solid composition obtained by the method of claim 1 .
29 . A method of preparing an oil-containing product, the method comprising either:
a) incorporating the solid composition of claim 28 within a product; or
b) transforming the solid composition of claim 28 into the oil-containing product after production of the solid composition; or
c) producing an oil-containing product during or as part of the method of claim 1 .
30 . The method of claim 29 , wherein the oil-containing product is selected from the group consisting of a pharmaceutical, a nutraceutical, a food supplement, and a personal care product.
31 . An oil-containing product obtained by the method of claim 29 .