Weekly Roundup: Changes to meal times can reduce body fat, GRAS status for Aurea Biolabs' sports nutrition ingredient

07 Sep 2018 --- The weekly roundup is NutritionInsight's collection of global nutrition stories from the past week. Researchers have used peanut DNA to develop a detection method for traces of peanut, while a study suggested that slightly adjusting meal times could decrease body fat by twofold. The European Commission appointed a new Director-General to its health and food safety department. Aurea Biolabs' sports nutrition ingredient, Fitnox, obtained GRAS status and Seventure Partners unveiled its corporate update for the period May-August 2018.

In brief: Research studies
By targeting DNA from peanut chloroplasts, a team of scientists hope to develop a sensitive and specific test for detecting traces of peanut. Published in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the study found that the method could uncover traces of peanut with a detection limit of about 1 part per million (ppm), compared with 10 to 50 ppm detected by previous methods of detection. Surveys have indicated that at least three million people in the US suffer from peanut allergies, but not all goods with traces of peanut have the risk listed front-of-pack – this DNA method could serve to protect many people with severe allergies.

Modest changes to breakfast and dinner times can reduce body fat, a new pilot study in the Journal of Nutritional Sciences reports. Participants were split into two groups: those who were required to delay their breakfast by 90 minutes and have their dinner 90 minutes earlier, and those who ate meals as they would normally (the controls). Results showed that participants who changed mealtimes lost nearly twice as much body fat as the control group. If this pilot data could be replicated in larger studies, there is potential for time-restricted feeding to have broad health benefits, the researchers note.

In brief: Acquisitions, mergers and expansions
The European Commission (EC) has appointed a new Director-General to its health and food safety department. Anne Bucher, the current chair of the Commission's Regulatory Scrutiny Board, will take over as head of the EC Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety on 1 October. Bucher will be succeeding Xavier Prats Monné, who plans to retire from his current position at the end of September to work with non-profit organizations in the field of education.

In brief: Product launches and certifications
Auera Biolabs’ all-natural sports nutrition supplement Fitnox has obtained Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) status. Fitnox is said to provide both athletes and active adults a balanced pre and post workout nourishment with a formulation that comprises extracts from nature, that work “in synergistic action to enhance nitrous oxide and antioxidant levels for physical endurance,” according to the company. By increasing the Erythropoietin (EPO) hormone that has a direct bearing on Haemoglobin levels for better oxygen delivery the sports nutrition ingredient is said to promote strong aerobic physical fitness.

In brief: Miscellaneous
Seventure Partners, specialized in investing in innovation in the microbiome sector, has unveiled its corporate update for the period May-August 2018. Some key facts include an increasing number of microbiome trials, with over 1637 this year and the acquisition of portfolio company TxCell this summer. In portfolio news, Johanne Louise Brændgaard was appointed to the board of Acarix, Corwave received US$16 million to develop Corwave Neptune: a new type of cardiac support for heart failure patients, and Maat Pharma and SATT Lutech announced a licensing agreement under which Maat Pharma will receive worldwide rights for the therapeutic application of allogeneic Fecal Microbiome Transplants (FMT) to treat acute Graft-vs-Host Disease in patients following stem cell transplantation.

By Laxmi Haigh