Feeling Full: Nexira launches carob and cactus supplement for appetite control

03 Aug 2023 --- Carolean is Nexira’s latest solution for weight management, adding to its portfolio of ingredients that offer “a 360 approach” to health. It combines the company’s recently acquired carob ingredients with its legacy nopal cactus nutraceuticals. The patent-pending combination is positioned to increase satiety by increasing viscosity in the stomach, giving consumers the sensation of feeling full.

“Our in vitro tests show that Carolean brings viscosity after 15 minutes, so we suggest taking it before a meal. After 80 minutes, Carolean complex is released, allowing for optimized nutrient absorption and no digestive discomfort,” Julie Imperato, marketing manager at Nexira tells NutritionInsight. 

By comparison, other products on the market can take more than an hour to reach a similar viscosity level, reveals the Nexira study, and continue to increase in viscosity at the two-hour mark. 

“The dosage is only one gram, so it’s quite easy to use in pills, powders, stick packs or meal replacements,” she adds. 

There is also a pending claim for the EU with the one gram dosage: ”Helps to increase feelings of fullness and satiety.” 

Julie Imperato, marketing manager at Nexira.Shift to holistic health 
Nexira has observed a general slowing down of interest in weight management solutions, even before COVID-19. 

The last three years accelerated the decline, but Leslie Lannebere, international marketing manager of health at Nexira, notes that “the need to lose weight is still there.”

Following the global pandemic, consumers have not shed their “pandemic pounds” and, on average, weigh about 3 kg heavier than they did before, underscores Lannebere.

For Imperato, she believes that consumers are taking a new approach to weight management, which is turning away from single solutions toward more holistic health. 

In turn, Nexira has developed a range of ingredients that can support consumers in different ways to reach their target weight while combining supplements with a healthy diet and exercise. 

Its 360 approach comprises botanical ingredients with properties for fat binding, water elimination, enzyme inhibition and detox. 

Nexira unveiled Carolean at Vitafoods 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland.Seeking synergies
Carolean is the fruit of a collaboration between two R&D teams, which found that carob and nopal cactus work in synergy to compound the viscous effect. 

“Nexira has a long history of expertise in cactus ingredients for weight management and through our acquisition of Unipektin we also have know-how surrounding carob,” details Imperato. 

For example, Nexira’s patented Neopuntia ingredient from nopal cactus has been the subject of several studies during its more than 20 years on the market. 

The company claims the ingredient helps bind to sugar and fat, forming a gel in the stomach, which can be later excreted. A pilot clinical study demonstrated that Neopuntia can increase fat excretion by 27%.

Meanwhile, locust bean gum sourced from carob seeds is widely used in the food and beverage industry as a hydrocolloid. The ingredient is ubiquitous in ice cream, where it can help prevent ice crystals from forming. Carob ingredients can also be used to thicken or improve mouthfeel in products.

The traditional Mediterranean fruit is now being explored for nutraceuticals beyond food and beverage texturizing alone. Israel-based CarobWay, for instance, has developed a low glycemic 1:1 sugar replacer sourced from the deseeded pods of the carob fruit. 

“The R&D teams tried different combinations and this one was the most effective. Individually each ingredient has a limited capacity but together it becomes exponential,” says Imperato. 

By Missy Green