Rainforest botanicals: Cosmax NBT launches patented pau d’arco for joint health

07 Jun 2021 --- South Korea-based functional food and supplement company Cosmax NBT has unveiled Tabetri, “the world’s first” clinically proven ingredient for joint and cartilage health benefits from pau d’arco.

Pau d’arco or “lapacho” is the inner bark of the Taheebo tree. It is native to the Amazon region of Brazil, where it is consumed as a remedy against various diseases, mainly as a tea, notes the company.

“Unlike other pau d’arco, Tabetri was developed through a patented manufacturing process with a superior anti-inflammatory effect,” Suyoung Choi, functional ingredient development director at Cosmax NBT, tells NutritionInsight. 

For active or older consumers
Tabetri addresses joint discomfort due to mild arthritis or rigorous sports activities, with the target demographic of consumers aged 40 to 80 years old. 

In addition, athletic consumers as young as in their 20s who go mountain climbing, biking and training at the gym are candidates for Tabetri-containing supplements. 

This ingredient is available as a primary ingredient in various delivery formats, including tablets, soft/hard capsules, powders, jellies and gummies. 

The dosage is set at 600 mg per day to reduce pain and cartilage degradation, the company notes. 

The cartilage areas stained by safranin O and toluidine blue were significantly increased in the group treated with Tabetri, revealing improved cartilage density.Studied for benefits on cartilage and joints
The company states it has proven Tabetri’s efficacy for improving osteoarthritis (OA) through in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies. This has been studied through the improvement of biomarkers related to joint and cartilage health. 

An in vivo study published in Meditators of Inflammation concluded that Tabetri reduces the degradation of cartilage. The study found that rats with monoiodoacetate (MIA)-induced OA significantly increased cartilage tissue density following five weeks of Tabetri intake. 

Tabetri has also been shown to improve the joint condition in adult men and women with pain in the knee joint. Cosmax NBT states that the ingredient is effective against pain and stiffness, especially when compared to competing products. 

Tabetri is more effective in reducing pain and cartilage degradation than green-lipped mussel extract oil or methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), the company adds. 

With these findings, Cosmax NBT has completed three patent registrations in the US, Australia and South Korea.  

The registered patents are related to the company’s extraction method that “maximizes the anti-inflammatory activity related to OA,” explains Choi. 

Botanicals to calm inflammation
Nutrition companies continue to develop and refine enhanced plant-based ingredients to address joint health and inflammation. 

Within joint health, devil’s claw, a flowering plant native to South Africa, has gained recent attention for its anti-inflammatory effects. 

Meanwhile, turmeric has a long-standing reputation for its powerful anti-inflammatory effects, as well as the carotenoid-rich microalgae astaxanthin. 

By Missy Green