Iprona to spotlight prebiotic polyphenols and immunity-supporting botanicals at Vitafoods Europe

25 Apr 2023 --- Food ingredients supplier, Iprona will feature its CraftIngredients range of botanical extracts at this year’s Vitafoods Europe nutraceutical tradeshow in Geneva, Switzerland (May 9-11), at booth E54.

The fruit processing company will feature its products made from blackcurrants, aronia and tart cherries with a focus on its European black elderberry extract ElderCraft, an ingredient for immunity-supporting supplements.

“This is a big moment for ElderCraft,” Britta Busch, global sales manager at Iprona, tells NutritionInsight. “Long established as immune ingredients, berry polyphenols are now officially regarded as prebiotics by the International Probiotics Association (IPA). The IPA recognition that the polyphenols from ElderCraft are prebiotics follows our work to show the extract is associated with lasting increases in Akkermansia bacteria.”Iprona states that it will present the science around ElderCraft elderberry extract’s immunity-boosting benefits. 

“Besides ElderCraft, Vitafoods visitors will be able to learn more about CherryCraft, the first polyphenol-standardized European tart cherry extract, and the pending eye-health study for our CurrantCraft European blackcurrant extract.”

Additionally, Busch states that Iprona plans to feature its NutriStella’s Holunder oral spray – also made with European back elderberry for immunity.

Elderberry efficacy
A key focus for the company will be presenting the scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of elderberry extract.

“The data positions ElderCraft as a potential ingredient for weight management and modulation of the gut microbiome, which plays an important role within the immune system,” Busch explains. “At this year’s show, we will offer two types of product samples, ElderCraft chocolate and ElderCraft crispy melts, as possible applications for functional foods and dietary supplements.”

“The more we learn, the more we see that the effects of ElderCraft are complex. We are curious to see what new insights the ongoing studies will bring us. Weight management was not on our radar for the ingredient, but by following the science and trying to understand how the extract interacts with the immune system, we uncovered a new potential application for ElderCraft.”Iprona is currently conducting a study on the muscle health effects of its cherry tart extract, CherryCraft.

Enticing Innovations
Busch further states that the company will also emphasize the benefits of its non-solvent extraction technology – the “gentle” process by which Iprona extracts polyphenols, anthocyanins and polysaccharides from fruit – as well as the efficacy of NutriStella’s Holunder and CherryCraft.

“NutriStella’s Holunder is unique, as it comes in an oral spray without any preservatives,” she elaborates. “It is a potential natural alternative to antibiotics, antivirals and over-the-counter medicines for routine cold and influenza cases. 

“The spray is positioned to reduce cold duration and symptoms. The oral spray dosage form enables fast, effective and digestive tract irritation-free absorption via the oral mucosa. The bioavailability is superior to the ingested forms as cyanidin absorbs 20 times better from the oral cavity than from the gastrointestinal tract.”

Busch also highlights that Iprona is collaborating with the University of Northumbria in Newcastle on a three-year research program to study the effects on sports recovery of its innovative tart cherry extract, CherryCraft. 

“We will be presenting new and exciting data on the impact of tart cherries on muscle recovery at next year’s event,” she concludes.

By William Bradford Nichols