Weekly Roundup: Kappa Bioscience eyes climate change with “Brand & Plant” program, Sabinsa expands UK and EU footprint

03 Sep 2021 --- This week in nutrition news, Norwegian vitamin K2 expert Kappa Bioscience launched a program to lower greenhouse emissions. Sabinsa increased its presence in the UK and Europe by building two new satellite offices. Meanwhile, Bionap Bioactive Natural Products achieved self-affirmed GRAS status for its standardized powder extract Cognigrape.

In brief: Business news
Kappa Bioscience revealed a resolute “Brand & Plant” program after an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publication. The IPCC published the first part of its Sixth Assessment Report, showing the long-term effects of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and their unprecedented damage on the atmosphere, oceans and lands. The new IPCC climate change report explains that climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying – and unquestionably caused by human activities. Increases in CO2 in the air will have a critical long-term impact through increasing temperatures notably, the report states.

Sabinsa has built two satellite offices in the UK and Spain to better serve its European customers. The Spanish office will serve Spain, Portugal, Southern France and Northwestern Africa. Customers in the UK and Ireland will benefit from the UK office’s assistance in navigating the changes and challenges brought on by Brexit. Aida Arnaiz has been hired as business development manager for Iberia and North Africa, and Luke Miles has been hired as business development manager for the UK and Ireland. Arnaiz and Miles will collaborate with manufacturers and brands to develop new products based on Sabinsa’s scientifically validated components.

In brief: Launches and releases
Chr. Hansen introduced a portfolio of stable live probiotics for use in pet foods and supplements, targeting the US market. Firstly, Chr. Hansen Pet-ProStart is a probiotic technology for supporting puppies, kittens, and their mothers during pregnancy and lactation. Secondly, Chr. Hansen Pet-Professionals is a probiotic technology for essential needs during adulthood, supporting normal health and everyday well-being. Lastly, Chr. Hansen Pet-Provital is a probiotic technology for senior dogs and cats above seven years of age.NextFerm Technologies expands Astaferm gummies to Grand Health in Canada.

Glaxon launched Wonder Collagen, powered by ioCollagen. This collagen product utilizes ingredient-optimized technology for increased absorption and bioavailability. Wonder Collagen is available in three flavors: Raspberry Rose, Frosted Cinna Swirl and Naked (Unflavored). The product features 21 servings per container, each with 12 g of collagen. It is suitable for the sports nutrition sector. 

US-based Muno-Vax, launched Immuno-Uro-Prostanorm supplement. The dietary supplement is designed to support the prostate gland and urinary tract for men over 40 years old. Immuno-Uro-Prostanorm has ingredients such as nettle root extract, harvested from the stinging nettle plant. The botanical ingredient is known for various health benefits, such as helping to manage an enlarged prostate. Additional ingredients include a “patented specific uro-immune support complex,” which is described as a mixture of lipopolysaccharides and lipopeptides. Also, zinc and natural vitamin D3 from lichen are included, both of which play critical roles in helping to preserve a healthy prostate.

Cambridge Commodities added Calmaluma to its partner’s Gencor range. Calmaluma is an extract derived from Caralluma fimbriata, a succulent plant. It has been considered as not novel in food supplements and affirmed safe by six toxicity studies. Calmaluma is created using a patented process that extracts the key constituents of the Caralluma fimbriata plant. Calmaluma is available as a 90 percent water-soluble, free-flowing powder. Additionally, it offers heat, acidic and alkaline stability, making it suitable for capsules, tablets and powder blends.

In brief: Announcements and certifications
NextFerm Technologies, a food tech company, announced its first commercial sale of Astaferm gummies to Grand Health in Canada. The announcement comes after having received Canadian NPN for Astaferm and Astaferm gummies. Grand Health is a Canadian health and wellness brand with sales across multi-continents and multi-channels.

Bionap Bioactive Natural Products, with assistance from GRAS Associates, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nutrasource, prepared a comprehensive GRAS dossier that included a scientific and safety review and analysis to conclude the GRAS status of Cognigrape for use as a source of dietary polyphenols and as an antioxidant to preserve food in fruit and vegetable juices, fruit-flavored beverages, frozen dairy desserts, gelatins, puddings and fillings, jams, syrups and toppings. Cognigrape is a standardized powder extract from red grape juice containing high concentrations of active grape substances such as anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins. It is clinically proven to improve cognitive function in attention, language, immediate and delayed memory and improve mood in healthy older adults.Study finds that Grow Daily Boys 10+ increases weight, BMI, fat-free mass and muscle mass in boys.

Desert Harvest, a manufacturer of nutritional supplements formulated with a proprietary super-concentrated aloe vera extract, has sought approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the use of its Super-Strength Aloe Vera Capsules in the treatment of interstitial cystitis (IC), the painful chronic bladder condition that affects as many as 12 million men and women. FDA approval would make Desert Harvest’s product the first FDA-approved IC treatment alternative to pentosan polysulfate sodium and the first prescription IC therapy not developed by a pharmaceutical company. The capsules were explicitly designed to help people suffering from IC. Studies have shown that the product helps relieve IC symptoms such as pelvic pain, urethral burning and urgency and frequency of urination in a large majority of patients.

In brief: Research and studies
Research from RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences demonstrated the beneficial effect of breast milk consumption on cardiovascular health and early cardiovascular development in premature infants. Published in JAMA Network Open, the study of 80 preterm infants shows that preterm infants with higher exposure to their mother’s milk had enhanced cardiac function at age one year, with values approaching those of healthy full-term infants.

A clinical study reveals the positive effect of nutritional supplementation on growth and body composition in short and lean preadolescent boys aged ten years old and up. The new nutritional formula developed by Nutritional Growth Solutions, “Grow Daily Boys 10+” protein drink powder, has been shown to support growth and development in boys ten years and older. The multi-center study was carried out by the Institute for Endocrinology of the Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel and two other co-research centers, both in Israel. The results indicate that consumers of Grow Daily Boys 10+ gained significantly more weight, BMI, fat-free mass and muscle mass than the placebo group. Positive dose-response correlations were found between consumption of the formula and changes in the outcome parameters examined, including height.

By Nicole Kerr