Center for Countermeasures against Chemical and Biological Warfare Agents

We are incredibly proud to announce that our manuscript has been accepted forpublication in Frontiers in Nutrition! 🎉 Title: A Novel Formulation of Multi-Vitamin Fortified Beverage with Natural Antioxidant by Nano-Hybrid Encapsulation for Hydration and Immune Support The Challenge: With rising global temperatures, chronic dehydration is a growing risk—especially in the Gulf, Sahara, and Sub-Saharan regions. We set out to create a functional beverage that does more than just rehydrate. Our Solution: 🔬 A stable nanoemulsion (droplet size of 89.3 nm) that successfully combines both water-soluble (Vitamins C & B₂) and fat-soluble (Vitamins D₃ & E) vitamins—a notorious formulation challenge. 🧪 A non-conventional sequential mixing process that preserves >94% of vitamins over 12 weeks. 🌿 Incorporation of Rosmarinic Acid as a natural antioxidant (with validated Nrf2/HO-1 activation and anti-inflammatory properties). This work bridges food nanotechnology with public health,...

Cassava is a major food crop for over 800 million people worldwide, but it contains natural toxins (cyanogenic glycosides) and is often viewed as only a source of calories. In this study, we produced a specially processed, cyanide‑free dried cassava mash (DCM) and tested whether it could safely improve immune function. We found that DCM contained no detectable cyanide, no harmful bacteria or heavy metals, and met all food safety standards. When given to mice for 8 days, DCM increased the number of immune cells in the spleen (a key immune organ) by 15% and enhanced the production of two important immune messengers – IL‑2 and IFN‑γ – which help the body fight viruses and other intracellular pathogens. Importantly, it did not cause unwanted allergic or immunosuppressive responses. A separate 28‑day safety study in rats showed no adverse effects on body weight, blood cells, liver, or kidneys, even at high doses. These results suggest that properly processed cassava can be more than just ...