Royal jelly is a bee product with diverse biological activity. 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid or 10-HDA is one of the most important bioactive components, which also separates it from other bee products. This compound shows many positive effects on human health, and that is also why its usage is expanding rapidly. The main limitation of all royal jelly products is their instability. The use of micron carrier systems could potentially improve this problem and increase its bioavailability in the human body. Liposomes represent one of the best novel drug delivery systems in this size range. They are spherical vesicles capable of encapsulating lipophilic or hydrophilic compounds and transporting them to a specific target site.
The aim of my master’s thesis is the encapsulation of royal jelly or its active components into liposomes that are stable enough for application in food or cosmetics industry. The topics researched include the synthesis, optimization, and characterization of final products. The key parameters influencing liposome formulation were composition and synthesis method. An important part of the research was also the isolation of liposomes and determining the degree of success for encapsulation. These were determined specifically by 10-HDA and non-specifically by protein profiling. The field is rather unexplored, but has a great potential for future research in the industrial sector.
There is still a large gap in literature on liposomal products based on bee products. It holds great potential for future research and development. The conclusion that emerged from my theoretical and experimental work was that it is possible to encapsulate formulations such as royal jelly in liposomes, but industrial application would require some further development.
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