Composition and method of obtaining oral or enteral dosage forms of phytochemicals from pomegranates

Abstract

Nutraceutical compositions for improved administration of important phytochemicals from pomegranate to a human or animal. More particularly, enables oral or enteral dosage forms containing phytochemicals from pomegranate for administering on a routine basis. In at least one instance the natural contents of a pomegranate are encapsulated into a pill form or concentrated juice that provides for more efficient administration than eating a pomegranate but contains the same key ingredients present in the fruit. Enables the recipient to receive the benefits of the fruit but allows for the dosages to be taken in pill or concentrated juice form. Composition is chemically similar or equal to a natural pomegranate but is in a powder, pill or concentrated liquid form.

1 . A method of obtaining an oral or enteral dosage unit of a dry composition pomegranate phytochemicals comprising:
 providing an aqueous solution containing at least one pomegranate solid comprising polyphenols from pomegranate;   removing said polyphenols onto a separation medium contained in a resin bed by passing said aqueous solution through said resin bed at a temperature ranging from about 100° F. to 140° F. and at a flow rate of between about 1 to about 3 bed volumes per hour;   rinsing said separation medium with a dilute aqueous alcohol comprising less than about 5% by volume of alkanol to remove an unbound material;   eluting said separation medium with an eluent to remove said polyphenols from said separation medium to obtain a mixture comprising said eluent and said polyphenols; and   drying said mixture to produce said dry composition.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said pomegranate solids comprise at least one element selected from the group consisting of pericarp, inner membrane, and seeds. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said separation medium comprises any one or more polymers selected from a group consisting of polydivinylbenzene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, and polymethylmethacrylate. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said separation medium comprises a macroreticular adsorptive resin providing hydrophobic interaction with said aqueous solution. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein said adsorptive resin is cross-linked styrene-divinylbenzene. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein said aqueous solution is obtained by:
 dispersing pomegranate solids in an aqueous solution to create a pomegranate solids mixture;   adding enzymes to said pomegranate solids mixture to allow at least partial degradation of said pomegranate solids; and   filtering said aqueous solution from said pomegranate solids mixture.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said dilute aqueous alcohol comprises less than 2% by volume of alkanol in water. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the alkanol of said dilute aqueous alcohol is ethanol. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein said eluent is a concentrated aqueous alcohol of at least about 5% v/v having alkanol of 1 to 4 carbon atoms. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein said concentrated aqueous alcohol comprises ethanol. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein said concentrated aqueous alcohol comprises between about 5% v/v to about 20% v/v of ethanol in water. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein said separation medium is in the form of a preparative column. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein said drying said mixture to produce said dry composition includes the step of distilling said mixture to recover alcohol. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said dosage unit is in a form of caplet, capsule, gelatin coated capsule, granule, microparticle, microsphere, pill, powder, or tablet. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said separation medium is selected to preferentially adsorb polyphenols.