PHARMACEUTICAL & NUTRACEUTICAL

Retention of active ingredients - Naturally

Pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies are increasingly using Flavourtech’s technologies in their production lines. A shift towards healthier lifestyles has dramatically increased the use of botanical-based nutraceuticals, such as functional extracts of herbs, vegetables and fruits. These botanical-based nutraceuticals are also increasingly being used in pharmaceutical products.

The active constituents in pharmaceutical products are some of the most difficult and sensitive compounds to process. Preserving these constituents, such as enzymes and proteins, is extremely important to the efficacy of the final product and critical in pharmaceutical applications.

Most of these active constituents are heat sensitive so their protection during the concentration stage of the manufacturing process is vital. Flavourtech’s Centritherm® evaporator offers manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals a gentle way of concentrating or evaporating solvent from products without damaging their active properties.

The Centritherm evaporator is uniquely engineered, and its low temperature evaporation (from 25°C) and one second contact time on the heating surface is why it is fast becoming an integral production line technology for many multinational companies.

See how others in your industry are using Flavourtech’s Centritherm evaporator:

• Solvent removal from pharmaceuticals
• Concentration of plant and herbal extracts

Some of the products currently being processed using the Centritherm evaporator include:

• Amino acids: glutamic acid, lysine and tryptophan
• Antibiotics: bacitracin, cycloserine, oxytetracycline, penicillin and streptomycin
• Biological derivatives: albumin, blood plasma, collagen, gamma globulin, gelatin, insulin, liver extract, pancreas extract, rennet and fish oil extract
• Enzymes: amylase, cellulase, papain, pepsin
• Plant extracts: alacin, alkaloids, aloe vera, carrageenan, grape seed, green tea, indian snakeroot, pumpkin seed, rosehip, tobacco and valerian root
• Pharmaceuticals and their intermediates: cyclocapron, dextran, ephedrine and glyoxal
• Vitamins: Vitamin C and E

APPLICATIONS

Solvent removal from pharmaceuticals

Flavourtech’s Centritherm evaporator is used by leading international companies for concentration of, and solvent removal from, a range of pharmaceutical products including enzymes, proteins, vitamins, antibiotics, blood products and other chemical compounds.

Flavourtech’s Centritherm evaporator is not only ideal for the evaporation of organic solvents but also can be used to process flammable or toxic materials.

How it works

Active ingredients contained in many pharmaceutical products are prone to heat denaturation. The preservation of these compounds is of paramount importance, especially during the concentration stage where heat is applied to evaporate the solvent. To minimise thermal degradation and consequent loss of functionality the action of the spinning cones within the Centritherm evaporator reduces the contact time between the heating surface and the product to approximately one second.

Centritherm evaporators are usually operated with an evaporation temperature of 50°C and a steam temperature of 120°C. However, if the heat sensitivity of the product is particularly pronounced, these conditions can be adjusted to reduce the temperature difference and further reduce the thermal impact. For example, lower operating temperatures, from 35°C, and steam temperatures of 70 to 90°C are used when processing various enzymes and protein fractions in order to preserve maximum functionality.

This combination of short residence time and low evaporation temperature ensures concentrates produced by the Centritherm evaporator are of extremely high quality and efficacy.

Concentration of plant and herbal extracts

The production of plant extracts typically requires the following process steps:

• Extraction of the active ingredient from the naturally occurring raw material using water or organic solvent.
• Separation of the extract (now containing the active compound/s) from the spent raw material.
• Evaporation of the water or organic solvent from the extract in order to increase the concentration of the active ingredient and produce a concentrated liquid extract.
• The liquid extract may then be used as is, or further processed into a dry powder.

The Centritherm evaporator is an ideal unit for this application due to the combination of short residence time and low evaporation temperatures ensuring concentrates are of extremely high quality and fully functional.