Abstract
<p>FruiteX-B<sup>®</sup>- calcium fructoborate (FrxB) plant mineral complex was investigated in this study. Although calcium fructoborate is naturally-occurring and found in commonly ingested fruits and vegetables, the commercially produced FrxB calcium fructoborate complex is formed by a proprietary reaction of boric acid with fructose and calcium carbonate. Liquid and solid-state <sup>13</sup>C and <sup>11</sup>B NMR were utilized in order to establish a baseline standard of FrxB for product quality purposes, to establish a reliable methodology to positively identify and quantify amounts of FrxB present in tablets and capsules, liquids and powdered blends wherein the FrxB may have been mixed with other ingredients, excipients, or adulterants such as maltodextrin or magnesium stearate, and to establish a robust and reliable testing method for the identification and quantification of the mono- and the di-complexes of calcium fructoborate as well as any free borate and/or free fructose that may be present. The molar ratio of the various components of calcium fructoborate was studied by <sup>11</sup>B and <sup>13</sup>C NMR in order to establish the relative amounts of free borate, free fructose, and mono-ester/di-ester complex present in the material. A quantitative <sup>11</sup>B NMR method was developed to enable quantification of the amount of FrxB present in products wherein it had been tableted or encapsulated in combination with other dietary supplement ingredients, or excipients such as magnesium stearate or maltodextrin. A quantitative <sup>13</sup>C NMR method was developed to quantify free fructose content in the complex. Finally, an NMR based product stability study was performed to monitor molecular level stability of the complex at temperatures ranging from 35-70 ºC with exposures lasting from 2-18 hours.</p><p> </p>
Highlights
The element boron is essential for all plant and animal life
Liquid and solid-state 13C and 11B NMR were utilized in order to establish a baseline standard of FrxB for product quality purposes, to establish a reliable methodology to positively identify and quantify amounts of FrxB present in tablets and capsules, liquids and powdered blends wherein the FrxB may have been mixed with other ingredients, excipients, or adulterants such as maltodextrin or magnesium stearate, and to establish a robust and reliable testing method for the identification and quantification of the mono- and the di-complexes of calcium fructoborate as well as any free borate and/or free fructose that may be present
Peaks that can be assigned to free fructose are observed as well as the mono-ester/di-ester complex in the FrxB sample but, because the overall spectrum is complicated, no assignments have been made in the 1H NMR spectrum due to its complexity
Summary
The element boron is essential for all plant and animal life. Certain inorganic borates, e.g., boric acid or sodium borate, have been used for dietary supplementation, animals typically ingest boron-containing compounds in the form boro-carbohydrates found in the plants that they eat. Boric acid forms esters and complexes with a wide variety of mono-, di-, and polyhydroxy compounds (Woods, 1996; Köse et al, 2010; Köse et al, 2014). Some of the most stable esters of boric acid are complexes wherein boric acid acts as a bridge between two carbohydrate molecules, e.g. fructose-boron-fructose. For better understanding of the primary functions of these important boro-carbohydrates in both plants and animals, more effective methodological developments are required, especially for the study of their detailed chemical distribution, the molecular receptor site, transportation, absorption, and the exchange of these borates and boron www.ccsenet.org/jfr
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