Alginate oligosaccharides

Hydrogel microspheres are promising for food applications. The water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion template is commonly used to prepare the hydrogel microspheres. However, this method often involves synthetic surfactants and toxic organic solvents to remove the oil phase. The swelling problem of the resultant microspheres is another obstacle. In this study the water-in-water (W/W) emulsion template of gelatin-in-dextran was used to prepare the hydrogel microspheres, without the addition of surfactants, toxic reagents and high energy input. To prevent swelling, zein particles modified with alginate were served as a hydrophobic shell of the gelatin core. The formation evolution of these core-shell microspheres and its relevant factors including phase behavior of the immiscible gelatin/dextran, the binding of zein/alginate and the addition of the modified zein particles were investigated. It was found that small amount of alginate could induce zein particles to adsorb on the gelatin surface, whereas the excess led to adsorption competition. When using 0.6 wt% particles with zein/alginate ratio of 1:0.5, the ideal core-shell microspheres which were fully covered by the particles and with a self-supporting architecture in uniform size (18.8 ± 0.1 μm) and spherical shape were obtained. These microspheres showed remarkable stability under the conditions of heat treatment, varied pHs and salt concentrations and long-term storage either in refrigerator or room environment. Their sizes were easily manipulated by adjusting the concentration and molar mass of the biopolymers. It is believed that the desired stability and tunable sizes of these edible core-shell microspheres could contribute the development of their applications in foods.

The laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD) treatment remains controversial due to the poor effectiveness of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). In this paper, the author reviewed the current primary treatments used in clinical studies for managing LPRD and discussed the pharmacological, biological, and physiological properties of medication for providing clinical relevance for otolaryngological practice. A comprehensive review of the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Scopus literature was conducted to document and analyze the medical treatments of LPRD in the largest case series published in the past 20 years. Fifty-five studies met the inclusion criteria, revealing that 67 different therapeutic regimens were used in the LPRD studies in the past 20 years with nine different therapeutic durations. PPIs have been used as a single therapy in 70.1% of cases. PPIs were combined with another drug in 23.9% of cases. Alginates and antacids were used as single therapy or in association with other drugs in 10.5% and 3.0% of cases, respectively. There was an important variability of molecules, doses, and regimens. There is an important gap between current therapeutic practice and the recent advancements in the pathophysiology of LPRD. The pharmacological and physiological findings of this review can reasonably support the notion that alternative gastroesophageal reflux disease therapies (alginate, antacids) could take a significant place in the treatment of primary or recalcitrant LPRD. Future studies are needed to confirm the stability of the LPRD profile at the hypopharyngeal-esophageal multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH and the role of digestive enzymes in the development of upper aerodigestive tract mucosa inflammation and symptoms.