IMWITOR® 375 as an innovative response to the challenges in the development of oral formulations

12. March 2026

A study shows how IMWITOR® 375 can improve bioavailability in nano-emulsions through encapsulation.

At Vitafoods Europe 2026 in Barcelona, it will once again become clear how strongly the areas of food and medicine are growing together. Particularly in the case of nutraceuticals, developers often face the same challenges as in pharmaceutical formulation: Active ingredients must withstand gastric degradation, be stable in formulations despite their poor solubility and then be efficiently absorbed through the intestinal wall. IMWITOR® 375 comes into play precisely at this point.

IMWITOR® 375: A versatile solubilizer for nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals

IMWITOR® 375 was developed to specifically address such formulation issues. As a solubilizer, the ingredient supports the stabilisation and encapsulation of different active ingredients and thus opens up new possibilities for oral dosage forms. In practice, this means that: hydrophilic, lipophilic or poorly soluble active ingredients can be integrated into suitable carrier systems and stably formulated.

At the same time, it fulfils current requirements regarding transparency and sustainability: IMWITOR® 375 is based on renewable raw materials such as sunflowers, sugar beet, sugar cane and rapeseed oil, and its formulation is vegan.

Bioavailability study: A comparison of modern carrier systems for active ingredients

In order to evaluate the potential of IMWITOR® 375 under realistic conditions, a comparative study was carried out with curcumin as the model substance. The focus was on two established approaches in the area of advanced delivery systems, which are aimed at improving solubility, stability and the absorption of poorly soluble active ingredients.

Nano-emulsion

  • Based on IMWITOR® 375
  • Oil-in-water systems with droplet sizes in a nano-meter range

Liposomes

  • An established formulation approach for high-performance carrier systems for active ingredients in the areas of pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals

The study combined three complementary test approaches that represent the different aspects of bioavailability:

An in-vitro model for the simulation of the gastrointestinal passage with a focus on stability, dispersion and solubility during the stomach and intestinal phase.

A cell-based model for examining the extent to which curcuminoids can pass the intestinal barrier.

Analytical determination of the curcuminoid concentration to assess the stability and release of the active ingredients in the course of the tests.

Why curcumin as a model substance?

Curcumin is receiving great attention in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical research. This natural substance is associated with anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-carcinogenic properties. However, so far, its therapeutic and nutritional potential cannot be fully utilised. The reason lies in several physiochemical and biological hurdles: Curcumin is poorly soluble, chemically relatively instable, is rapidly metabolised in the body and only passes the intestinal barrier to a limited extent. That is exactly why the active ingredient is well suited as a model substance for examining the effectiveness of modern carrier systems for active ingredients.

Results: IMWITOR® 375 significantly improves the transport and stability of curcumin

The study clearly shows how different formulation methods affect the stability and absorption of the model active ingredient. Particularly the formulation based on IMWITOR® 375 achieved significant improvements in several testing parameters compared to the pure curcumin extract.

An overview of the most important results:

  • Following digestion, the test formulation based on IMWITOR® 375 achieved an almost 100 per cent higher analytical recovery rate of curcumin than the reference formulation.
  • Formulations based on IMWITOR® 375 increased the transepithelial transport of curcuminoids by the factor 3,500 to 4,000 per cent in comparison to the pure extract.
  • Test and reference formulations achieved similar permeability coefficients – round about 20-25 times higher than the curcumin extract.
  • Altogether, the nano-emulsion based on IMWITOR® 375 showed an approximately 60 per cent higher transport than the liposomal reference formulation.

The study demonstrates the potential that lies in suitable carrier systems for active ingredients. The approach could therefore also be relevant for other bioactive substances that, due to poor solubility or limited permeability, cannot be easily formulated.

Would you like to convince yourself of the possibilities IMWITOR® 375 offers for your formulations? Visit us in Barcelona at Vitafoods Europe 2026 at Booth 5G103 and talk directly with our experts!

Interested in the details? We will be presenting the results from 23 to 26 March at ResearchPharm®  in Prague as part of a poster presentation.

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Robert Radsziwill

Robert is the Business Development Manager for Functional Excipients in the Pharma Division of IOI Oleo GmbH. Prior to this role he held technical and commercial roles focusing raw materials used in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry for 13 years. In each position he leveraged his diploma degree in Business Chemistry earned at Westfälische Wilhelms-University to drive interdisciplinary projects and work as interface between commercial and technical decision makers. Understanding technical, commercial and regulatory drivers from ideation to successful project-completion is key for him. In his free time he enjoys guitar heavy music as well as cooking for and with family and friends.