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Grafton High students present low-cost lactase encapsulation at school committee meeting
Summary
Three Grafton High students described a year-long project to encapsulate lactase in alginate beads inside gelatin capsules, reporting lab tests that matched or slightly outperformed a commercial supplement and estimating a per-pill material cost of about $0.025; presenters and staff cautioned the work is preliminary and needs more testing.
Grafton — Three Grafton High students presented an award-winning science-fair project to the Grafton School Committee on April 28 that tested a double-layer pill designed to protect lactase from stomach acid. The students — introduced by the committee as Navdha Bhatia, Lauren Peel and Anushka Singh — described lab simulations showing their encapsulation method produced consistent glucose-readout results and compared favorably with a commercial over‑the‑counter lactase supplement.
The students said their pill uses sodium alginate beads that contain the enzyme and an outer gelatin capsule that shields the beads from low pH in the stomach. After a simulated 30-minute exposure to acidic conditions and transfer to a neutral phosphate buffer, the team measured glucose production as a proxy for lactase activity. "Our system aims to mitigate that effect and allow people to digest the enzyme without it denaturing before it even reaches the intestine," one presenter said.
Why it matters: roughly 60% of people worldwide have some degree of lactose intolerance, and an inexpensive, reliable enzyme supplement could reduce digestive symptoms and cost barriers. The presenters estimated a material cost of about $0.025 per pill based on lab-supply pack pricing; they contrasted that with a cited commercial per‑pill cost of $0.35, though they acknowledged bulk manufacturing economics differ.
Committee members praised the students and pressed about methods and limits. The team reported three trials with enzyme-activity readings (their samples: 450, 430, 430) versus larger variability for the commercial brand (reported as 400, 300, 530). They also disclosed methodological limits: the simulated gastric fluid omitted pepsin (a stomach protease), exposure times in the simulation were shorter than normal human gastric transit, bead production was manual (introducing size variability), and longer-term preservation of the capsules remains unresolved. "We did not include pepsin in those fluids and that is present in stomach acid, so the effects of the acid on our enzyme could be a little underestimated," a presenter said.
Dr. Soca (committee attendee) endorsed the project's relevance, noting clinical parallels from integrative veterinary practice and suggesting the method could apply to other digestive enzymes.
The students outlined next steps: include pepsin in the simulation, extend exposure times to better mimic human digestion, automate bead production to reduce variability, and work on preservation/shelf life so samples could be shared at competitions. They said they lacked the capacity to run human trials and framed the results as encouraging but preliminary.
The committee thanked the students and invited them to share materials with the district; members suggested the team catalog lab notes and cost calculations for future review. The presentation ran from the committee's introduction (SEG 136) through follow-up remarks (SEG 605).
