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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Extraction of Plant-based Capsules for Microencapsulation Applications
Published on: November 9, 2016
Enhanced bioavailability of eicosapentaenoic acid from fish oil after encapsulation within plant spore exines as
Ammar Wakil1, Grahame Mackenzie, Alberto Diego-Taboada
1Hull Royal Infirmary, Michael White Diabetes Centre, 220-236 Anlaby Road, HU3 2RW, Hull, UK. ammar.wakil@gmail.com
Abstract:
Benefits of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) can be enhanced by raising their bioavailability through microencapsulation. Pollen can be emptied to form hollow shells, known as exines, and then used to encapsulate material, such as oils in a dry powder form. Six healthy volunteers ingested 4.6 g of fish oil containing 20% EPA in the form of ethyl ester first alone and then as 1:1 microencapsulated powder of exines and fish oil. Serum bioavailability of EPA was measured by area under curve (AUC(0-24)). The mean AUC(0-24) of EPA from ethyl ester with exine (M = 19.7, SD = 4.3) was significantly higher than ethyl ester without exines (M = 2, SD = 1.4, p < 0.01).The bioavailability of EPA is enhanced by encapsulation by pollen exines.
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