Next-gen nutraceuticals: Gut health and beauty-from-within trends inspire adaptogen advances

10 Nov 2022 --- Nutraceuticals have consistently undergone upgrades to incorporate ingredients for enhanced well-being related to mood, a healthy gut microbiome and beauty. Adaptogens are increasingly playing a leading role in the new generation of these nutraceuticals. 

ADM, Nektium, PharmaLinea and BioCell Technology tell NutritionInsight more about the ingredient compositions, delivery formats and health benefits of nutraceuticals.

“Adaptogens are trending due to their broad health application possibilities, especially in the category of stress, anxiety and relaxation,” says Deborah Thoma, marketing manager at Nektium.

All eyes on adaptogens
Within the limited number of officially recognized adaptogens, ginseng and ashwagandha are the most popular. Meanwhile, awareness of Rhodiola rosea has been increasing in recent years.

“This is undoubtedly a direct result of the high levels of uncertainty experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a recent global consumer survey finding 46% of people wish to improve their mental well-being,” says Thoma.

Nektium has a new product range called Rhodiolife from Rhodiola rosea extract mainly focused on sports and active nutrition and cognition.

“Adaptogens such as Rhodiolife are a perfect fit because they work across both categories. Benefits include reducing stress, anxiety and depression, improving mood, enhancing attention and focus and boosting athletic performance and recovery,” Thoma adds.

“Sustainable sourcing is crucial to preserve the botanical resource. Overharvesting is a serious issue in the primary producing geographical zones of China and Russia, with increasing demand leading to a significant reduction in the wild population.”

To address this, the company developed a sustainable cultivation program that allows it to switch a major proportion of its raw sourcing from wild to cultivated rhodiola. “As the cultivated plants are propagated from wild root rhizomes, there are no physical or phytochemical differences from their foraged counterparts,” Thoma explains.

Rooting for user-friendly delivery formatsBeauty-from-within has been a strong trend since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to gain traction.
Nutraceutical formats vary from gummies, tablets and capsules to powders in order to cater to every consumer need. Certain formats, however, are more user-friendly than others as a result of design and handling.

Nektium states that, to optimize stability, it primarily works with powder formats. “They also provide formulators with a greater range of application possibilities in part due to superior handling properties,” says Thoma.

Before Nektium moves to application trials the company leverages its expertise in phytochemistry to determine potential challenges such as safety issues and ingredient interactions. This is also done to ensure the botanicals will not negatively impact the stability or organoleptic properties of the final product.

According to Thoma, demand is increasing for functional ingredients that are integrated into everyday foods, rather than consumed purely in supplement formats.

Bountiful benefits
Vaughn DuBow, global director of marketing for microbiome solutions at ADM says 68% of dietary supplement users globally find that supplements would be more appealing if they offered multiple benefits in one product.

“Accessible dietary supplements offering multiple wellness attributes are capturing consumers’ attention as a key complement to their diets,” explains DuBow.

Due to the manufacturing process it undergoes, ADM’s heat-treated BPL1 can be incorporated across different categories and processing environments. “As a spore-forming strain, it retains functionality through challenging processing conditions that may otherwise damage conventional lactic acid bacteria probiotics,” explains DuBow. 

This challenge makes heat-treated BPL1 and DE111 ideal solutions for convenient and trending supplement formats, including gummies, stick packs and clusters.

“When formulating some of our latest product launches, we also focused on user-friendly delivery forms. Direct sticks are gaining popularity among consumers, as they can be easily integrated into their daily routines,” says Matevž Ambrožič, marketing and PR director at PharmaLinea.

The Your Iron line addresses multiple common nutritional deficiencies. Meanwhile,the latest additions to PharmaLinea’s iron and urinary tract infection product lines come in the form of direct sticks with orodispersible powder and direct sticks with liquid.

“Our focus lies in ingredients with advanced delivery techniques, better protection against unwanted interactions and increased performance – one approach to this is microencapsulation,” says Ambrožič. 

“Another pillar for our development is that the materials we’re using have existing scientific substantiation.”Adaptogens are trending because of their broad health applications.

Functional solutions are booming
According to ADM’s research, 79% of consumers globally indicate they are looking to improve their overall well-being by using supplements. Demand and market innovation is steadily increasing, with the total global dietary supplements market revenue reaching US$76 billion in 2021, and an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.4% by 2026. 

DuBow says: “The dietary supplements industry continues to grow, as consumers actively seek out functional solutions to support their holistic health and wellness goals, including physical and emotional well-being.” 

“Today’s consumers are continuing to connect the microbiome to the root of their overall wellness,” DuBow explains. Among the top concerns people want to address with supplements is support for digestive health.

“Consumers are also associating support of the gut microbiome to immune function, weight management, skin health and cognitive support,” DuBow outlines.

Cognitive health space
Increased consumer awareness in the connection between mind and body has increased attention to sleep quality, screen time and ingredients that can help optimize brain function. 

DuBow says supplements that help with stress, mood and sleep are trending in the cognitive health space, with 66% of global consumers indicating they want to improve their cognitive and mental health by using supplements. 

“Our research shows that 58% of global consumers perceive a connection between the function of bacteria in the gut to wider aspects of well-being,” he highlights.

This growing interest has sparked exponential growth for the probiotic supplements market, which is anticipated to outpace total supplements with a CAGR of 3.7% between now and 2026.

The company’s DE111 B (Bacillus subtilis) has shown support for areas of wellness, including immune function and digestive support. Research demonstrates that it can grow in the small intestine, as it can survive gastric transit and the harsh conditions of the stomach and bile salts. 

In line with this, PharmaLinea designed the Your Prebiotiq product line to meet consumer demand around gut health. The products in this line are appropriate for children and adults.

“Our latest product launch is tapping into the lifestyle benefits trend. Women’s health is on the rise and many brands are deciding to create product lines specifically dedicated to this segment,” Ambrožič says.

Overall health includes the skin
Skin health trends are also taking hold. Beauty-from-within, for example, has been one of the biggest growing trends seen by Biocell Technology since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.ADM states that many consumers are seeking recognizable and simple ingredients. 

“As people spend more time on the computer, appearance has been top of mind and natural solutions have been sought,” says Douglas Jones, global sales and marketing manager at Biocell Technology.

The most notable product in the company’s portfolio that caters to the trend is BioCell Collagen containing a matrix of collagen Type II, hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate.

“What we have seen is the younger millennials are entering the category now in bigger numbers,” Jones underscores. 

About 67% of global consumers surveyed by ADM link good skin health to aspects of overall health, and a high percentage of people say they are interested in more information on supporting skin health.

Consumers are particularly concerned about preventing wrinkles and dark spots, and they’re beginning to look for ways to support this in combination with topical care.

“Approximately 40% of global consumers say they’re regularly seeking out supplements, foods and drinks that can support skin health and aspects related to skin aging and may be able to protect from UV damage,” says DuBow.

“We’re also seeing the demand for clean labels move into the dietary supplement category, with consumers seeking transparency on both ingredients used and the claims made,” DuBow highlights. “About 69% of consumers are motivated by simple, recognizable ingredients when evaluating their purchasing decisions.”

DuBow continues: “For skin health, consumers are frequently drawn to ingredient-forward attributes on skincare products. Ingredients such as collagen and vitamins C and D continue to hold consumer attention for their array of perceived attributes, including reducing sun damage, slowing early skin aging and more.”

Probiotics and calcium are also top ingredients consumers are most likely to associate with supporting skin health. “As probiotics gain more traction in the skincare space, we have developed probiotic formulations that show positive impact on skin health support and microbiome composition,” DuBow concludes.

By Inga de Jong