Senior bone health and cognition: Omya tablet concepts target key future NPD platforms
09 Jan 2019 --- Mineral ingredients supplier Omya has developed two new functional tablet concepts for the senior nutrition category: fast-dissolving Omyasprint and chewable Omyabone. The tablets tap into a range of trending sectors, from cognitive and immune health to bone health. With the combined use of its proprietary calcium minerals and specialty ingredients from its distribution portfolio, Omya seeks to provide holistic solutions for various nutraceutical concepts that meet current market demands.
“Today’s consumers understand the benefits of preventing rather than curing disease. They are looking for nutritional all-in-one solutions and so it makes perfect sense to offer functional combinations that meet their needs. The dual role of Omya as a supplier of calcium carbonate and global distributor of specialty ingredients delivers real customer advantages,” says Stefan Lander, Vice President Consumer Goods, Group Sales & Marketing at Omya.
The berry-flavored Omyasprint prototype targets cognitive and immune health, while vitamin B12 helps to reduce fatigue. Seniors, as well as pregnant women and those who consume low amounts of animal-source foods, are at risk of vitamin B12 deficiency. As an orally disintegrating tablet (ODT), Omyasprint is designed to dissolve in the mouth within seconds, without the need for water.
The primary challenge in ODT development is to simultaneously combine fast disintegration time, physical stability and acceptable mouthfeel with a cost-effective production process. This requires specific excipients that differ to those used in other oral dosage forms, the company notes. 
Omyapharm aims to provide excellent carrier properties while also ensuring high mechanical stability and fast disintegration. Due to its mechanical strength, tablets formulated with Omyapharm can be filled in regular bottles, reducing costs and difficulty of the conditioning process.
Omyabone is a high-purity natural calcium source with 40 percent bioavailable calcium, Calcipur 2 - OG, specialized for an aging population seeking to maintain bone health and prevent osteoporosis.
Vitamins D3 and K2 also contribute to bone health and are embedded in the formulation. Both are essential for optimal calcium absorption and deposition into bones and are available through the Omya distribution portfolio.
At the recent HiE 2018 in Frankfurt, Omya presented its Calcipur range of natural calcium carbonates. Speaking to NutritionInsight, Lander presented Omyabone, which was a prototype at the time.
“We have combined our own produced calcium in combination with vitamins. For calcium absorption you need D3 and vitamin K2 that help to bring calcium to the right part of the body,” he explained.
“There are age groups that need more calcium, seniors and women over the age of 40 who are facing osteoporosis, for example. We came up with these concepts to demonstrate the way in which calcium can be used in various products,” Lander concludes.
