2024-06-11 14:00:26
“This innovation is a one-bite-sized meals product lined with a membrane that’s onerous to interrupt together with your fingers, however simply melts in your mouth, and stands out with shiny, noticeable colours and a contemporary style and aroma”, – describes the innovation, KTU School of Chemical Know-how (CTF) professor Daiva Leskauskaitė.
The concept to create a brand new product that will assist sufferers take in extra water and different mandatory substances in a beautiful and straightforward approach got here from Kristina Judine, the founding father of the nursing and supportive therapy hospital “Addere Care”.
“We deal with greater than 230 individuals day by day in our hospital in Trakai. Six of the 9 models take care of individuals with dementia and Alzheimer’s illness. We see their every day routines and know that if nobody reminded them to drink, they often would not. That is why we have been on the lookout for methods to assist individuals unconsciously take in water, which is so mandatory for people,” says Okay. Judinė.
New merchandise can be examined in nursing properties
The most important benefit of such a brand new product is its composition. Composed of 95% of water, enriched with nutritional vitamins D, C, B9 and B12 and minerals of iron, selenium and zinc, this product will meet the advisable consumption of minerals and nutritional vitamins particularly for the aged.
As well as, Prof. D. Leskauskaitė already assures that the particular product growth know-how may even contribute to offering the physique with vitamins: “The product can be characterised by the managed launch of microcomponents throughout digestion. The biggest quantity of them can be launched within the small gut, which can result in higher absorption of gear.”
Presently, the method of making and enhancing meals merchandise, about which Enrika Lazickaitė, a pupil of Medicinal Chemistry of the joint grasp’s research program of KTU and LSMU, is making ready her grasp’s thesis, continues to be ongoing, however D. Leskauskaitė says that quite a bit has already been completed.
“The composition of biopolymers used for structuring meals merchandise containing a whole lot of water was discovered, the probabilities of including nutritional vitamins and minerals to the product have been decided, the steadiness of those parts through the technological course of and storage of the product was evaluated, and ball-shaped one-bite merchandise have been created,” says Prof. D. Leskauskaitė.
An important stage of the analysis is ready – to find out the acceptability of recent merchandise within the aged inhabitants of nursing properties. The outcomes of the analysis can be utilized in deciding on the style, aroma and shade of the merchandise.
“On the identical time, we are going to conduct in vitro research of the discharge of nutritional vitamins and minerals added to the merchandise within the small gut. The obtained outcomes will permit us to evaluate the effectivity of the bioabsorption of the added microcomponents within the our bodies of the aged,” provides the researcher.
For this exercise, researchers will use the “synthetic abdomen” – SHIME (eng. the simulator of the human intestinal microbial ecosystem) mannequin for the complicated modeling of the physiological, chemical and microbiological properties of the digestive tract. It is likely one of the college’s most consultant in vitro applied sciences, permitting assessments to be carried out in a take a look at tube relatively than in a dwelling organism.
The final stage is the manufacturing of a trial batch, throughout which the packaging of the merchandise can be evaluated and the ultimate changes of the manufacturing technological parameters can be made.
A product that has no analogues in Lithuania
Talking in regards to the causes that decide the inadequate consumption of liquids by seniors, D. Leskauskaitė states that they’re numerous, however one of many predominant ones is swallowing issues (dysphagia).
“Hospitalized sufferers with dysphagia are at higher threat of dehydration than those that should not identified with dysphagia. Such individuals have to devour liquids with a modified texture, however older individuals typically don’t like them, in order that they devour an inadequate quantity,” says D. Leskauskaitė.
Nevertheless, the scientist provides that dehydration in outdated age could be attributable to different issues, together with melancholy, dementia and even Alzheimer’s illness.
“Sufferers overlook to drink and eat, and never with the ability to use cutlery on their very own discourages sufferers from making any effort in relation to meals. This creates further issues”, says D. Leskauskaitė.
In line with prof. D. Leskauskaitės, the goal customers of the product and the recognized predominant causes of their dehydration compelled to pay a whole lot of consideration not solely to the composition of the product, but in addition to its exterior traits – measurement, texture and handy dealing with.
Vitamin and geriatrics specialists say that meals specifically ready to be eaten with the fingers, simply grasped and transported from the plate to the mouth, could be helpful for aged individuals with cognitive issues and turn out to be a dehydration-reducing facet.
Swallowing issues are harmful not solely as a result of the physique of an aged individual isn’t sufficiently equipped with water and vitamins, but in addition due to the elevated threat of aspiration pneumonia. Merchandise presently available on the market to scale back these dangers embody a wide range of thickened, modified-textured drinks.
And though it is a legitimate therapeutic technique to scale back the chance of choking in sufferers with dysphagia, numerous research show that the consumption of thickened liquids alone doesn’t have a big impact on growing the quantity of water within the physique of those sufferers, and such drinks should not acceptable to everybody.
“There are not any specialised dietary dietary supplements supposed for individuals with swallowing issues in Lithuania, so a brand new, extra superior product by way of each usefulness and attractiveness is very mandatory,” argues prof. D. Leskauskaitė.
2024-06-11 14:00:26