Future of functional ingredients: Focus on science-backed, natural and holistic health options

Amid a growing functional ingredients market, the nutrition industry sees potential for plant-based options as consumers value sustainably sourced ingredients. Nutrition Insight meets with experts from Sensus, Ingredients by Nature, and Layn Natural Ingredients to examine how the companies’ natural offerings benefit gut health, personalized nutrition, and multifunctional supplements.

“The future of functional ingredients looks promising, with advancements in research driving the evolution of this dynamic market,” says Eszter Heijnen, commercial manager at Sensus. 

“Plant-based ingredients are gaining traction as consumers increasingly seek sustainable and ethical options. Functional ingredients derived from plants align with this trend by offering health benefits while being environmentally friendly.” 

President of Ingredients by Nature, Rob Brewster, adds that the most successful functional ingredients address multiple health areas while meeting sustainability and traceability expectations. “Key focus areas include the gut-brain axis, cognitive health, personalized nutrition, and metabolic support, including GLP-1 support.” 

“The functional ingredient market will continue to focus heavily on personalized nutrition combined with advanced technology,” he predicts. “Consumers will increasingly seek products that promote a healthier lifespan for both body and mind. Furthermore, I hope to see a greater integration of functional ingredients with conventional healthcare treatments.”

“Unraveling nature’s secrets”

James Roza, CSO of Layn Natural Ingredients, says that new ingredient discoveries can be deployed more quickly due to advances in research speed. 

“Using AI, new testing methodologies, and advancements in analytics, we are now getting closer to unraveling nature’s secrets and understanding how to utilize this information for our well-being.”

In addition to polyphenolic standardized extracts, Layn Natural Ingredients produces nutraceuticals through precision fermentation. Roza predicts that this process will lead to more solutions as the nutraceutical industry grows and evolves. 

“Layn Natural Ingredients recognizes this potential and has begun producing ingredients such as Galacan and bio-resveratrol, which utilize this technique to produce high-purity ingredients with minimal environmental impact. The result is high yields at a lower cost without depleting our natural biomass sources, some of which are on the CITES list.”

CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is an intergovernmental agreement to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten species’ survival. 

Vaughan says that metagenomics and metabolomics technologies will help expand knowledge about prebiotics’ impact on gut microbiota.Roza explains that Galacan is the company’s “next-generation beta-glucan” for immune and intestinal health, produced through precision fermentation. 

“Its distinct helical molecular structure optimizes its ability to communicate with immune cells and promote bacterial growth better than conventional beta-glucans, which are more linear,” he details. “It is a unique polysaccharide produced from a patented bacterium isolated from soil found in the Tibetan plateau.”

Meanwhile, Heijnen notes that Sensus is expanding its capabilities and know-how to offer its chicory root fiber products in targeted food applications. For example, she highlights the benefits of these fibers in addressing side effects from GLP-1 medications for type 2 diabetes and weight loss. 

“These drugs may also result in side effects impacting gut health, muscle mass, and overall nutrition. As a functional ingredient, chicory root fiber may aid individuals experiencing various side effects from these new medications and, in general, help with weight management by enhancing the body’s natural approaches for satiety.”

Gut health and beyond

Roza notes a growing consumer interest in functional ingredients that benefit cognition, stress, sleep, and immunity. Since these are all related to the microbiome, he says intestinal health solutions are “the most prominent.” 

“There is a new theory garnering a lot of support from the scientific community that ‘all health begins in the microbiome.’ This phrase is a remake of a postulation made by Hippocrates thousands of years ago that ‘all disease begins in the gut.’”  

Research demonstrates that many health conditions are related to an imbalance of gut bacteria. He observes products touted for supporting digestion and intestinal health based on their content of prebiotic fibers, green foods, probiotics, and botanical extracts. 

In order to achieve regulatory authorization for prebiotic health claims, Dr. Elaine Vaughan, health science and regulatory affairs leader at Sensus, underscores the importance of scientific evidence and substantiated claims. She says such claims can “build consumer trust and stimulate investment and innovation in food products for consumer health worldwide.” 

Brewster says that citrus-derived ingredients offer health benefits due to their nutrient-dense profile, such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.“Clinical trials and their execution to high standards for regulatory authorities have enabled the exploration of health benefits of chicory fibers and substantiated digestive health claims,” she continues. 

Because the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics definition and criteria for prebiotics require ingredients to “demonstrate selective effects on the gut microbiota,” Vaughan welcomes cutting-edge technologies that analyze the gut microbiome in supporting prebiotic claims. 

“Metagenomics and metabolomics technologies, in combination with upcoming machine learning, will become more powerful for understanding how chicory root prebiotics influence the gut microbiota in relation to our metabolic health and the gut-brain axis. Such technologies will help predict individual microbiota responses, develop biomarkers for health, and potential outcomes of human trials.” 

In addition to gut health, she notes that the various chicory-derived fiber types can be incorporated into personalized plans that address health concerns such as liver, immune, and skin health. 

Multifunctional ingredients

Sensus’ Heijnen expects growth in personalized nutrition, where people tailor diets to meet their specific nutritional needs. 

“Additionally, we foresee a rise in the use of multifunctional ingredients within nutraceuticals, which provide a convenient method for including essential nutrients in one’s diet.” 

Brewster from Ingredients by Nature highlights citrus-derived ingredients as examples of multifunctional ingredients that provide significant health benefits for supplements, foods, and beverages. 

He says they offer “numerous health benefits due to their nutrient-dense profile, which includes antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects as well as support for cardiovascular health and blood sugar regulation.” 

“Research has advanced our understanding of functional ingredients by uncovering new health benefits, exploring synergistic combinations, determining optimal dosages, enhancing bioavailability, improving extraction methods, and refining taste and product formats.” 

Brewster adds that this research has fueled more product innovations than ever, “leading to increased efficacy, heightened consumer awareness, and broader clinical applications.”