Mineral Absorption Gets Boost From Marine-Derived Calcium
Essential for the proper functioning of the body, neuromuscular functions and coagulation, as well as being responsible for building bones and teeth, calcium is a mineral that is greatly exploited by the pharmaceutical industry. Supplementation becomes essential, mainly due to inadequate intake of the mineral, and its lack can cause, among other problems, osteoporosis.
Tablets containing calcium carbonate are the most commercialized as food supplements, but they do not enable the total absorption of the calcium salt. They can also cause gastric discomfort and are difficult to swallow, always needing to be taken with water.
With these problems in mind, researchers from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences (FCF) at USP have developed mini pills to treat calcium deficiency , which have a prolonged and slow release of calcium in the body, in up to 12 hours. “We developed the formulation associating the vitamin D3 that is contained in the coating and that, when swallowing the mini-pills, in contact with the saliva, slides easily without the need to consume water”, explains Rosana Pereira da Silva, researcher at FCF-USP.
Vitamin D3 is associated with an increased absorption of calcium by the body, which increases the effectiveness of the tablets. With increased absorption, less calcium is released in the stool. The structure also makes swallowing much easier, especially for people who cannot swallow large pills, such as children and the elderly.
The calcium in the mini-tablets, however, is of marine origin, from deposits of red algae, rich in elements and trace elements such as magnesium, manganese, chromium and zinc – different from those already present in the Brazilian market. Trace elements are catalysts in metabolism and their deficiency causes physiological dysfunction.
“This is a great advantage, because in the composition of the seaweed it is possible to find a significant amount of these trace elements”, says Rosana. The idea for the pills came from the researcher’s master’s degree, which was concluded at the Pharmacotechnical Development and Innovation Laboratory (Deinfar) and coordinated by Humberto Gomes Ferraz, director of FCF-USP, and sponsored by a company that is authorized to exploit this source.
“Faced with the problems of consuming very large pills, thinking about patients with difficulty swallowing and the absence of these trace elements in our diet, we developed the formulation of mini-tablets to supplement not only calcium, but also the important trace elements it contains, in addition to facilitating administration”, he explains.
The product has been under development since 2018, but the partners who are authorized to exploit this seaweed are still looking for partners to put it on the market. “This product would enter Anvisa with some ease in the category of food supplements, because it is not required as much from the regulatory part of supplements as it is required for the registration of other products, such as a new medicine”, he says.