Weekly Roundup: Nestlé Health Science’s personalized platform goes international, Beneo spotlights galenIQ

06 Mar 2020 --- In nutrition news this week, Nestlé Health Science expanded the international shipping of its personalized vitamin subscription program, Persona, to over 60 countries. A partnership between Tommy Bahama and Boomer Naturals brought a collection of wellness products that feature CB5, a new alternative to CBD. In a financial overview, Evonik declared stable earnings for 2019 despite having faced economic headwinds. Meanwhile, a Lycored survey established that cardiovascular health has topped the list of US and UK adults’ main health concerns.

In brief: Launches
Responding to the personalized nutrition trend, Nestlé Health Science’s vitamin subscription program Persona now offers international shipping services to more than 60 countries to fulfill a global consumer demand for personalized wellness products and services. The online nutrition assessment considers a person’s gender, age, dietary preferences, stress levels, sleep patterns, fitness habits, allergies and other lifestyle factors to provide individualized nutritional advice. Persona is also set to increase its number of nutritionists available for consultation in a bid to maximize its current operations.

Iconic lifestyle brand Tommy Bahama partnered with health and wellness company Boomer Naturals to deliver a co-branded collection of wellness products that feature CB5, the new breakthrough plant-based alternative to CBD. CB5 is a proprietary blend of natural ingredients including rosemary, cacao and black pepper that do not contain CBD or THC. It has also been clinically shown to support the body’s ECS regulatory system, which helps to reduce pain and inflammation, lessen anxiety and improve sleep and skin conditions.The partnership’s collection arrives in tinctures, gummies, pain relief cream, massage oil and pain relief roll stick, with pet treats and pet tinctures soon to follow.

Sternchemie has released its MCT oil in powder form.Kappa Bioscience developed a newly released United States Pharmacopeia (USP) analysis method of vitamin K2, which reflects the market growth of the stability-enhanced vitamin and reduces the risk of false-negative results and the need for re-testing. Moreover, the addition of a microencapsulation work-up in the method’s monograph not only signifies the growing recognition of K2+ minerals’ stability but also helps many other vitamin products meet the K2 claim label.

Sternchemie, a lipid technology company under the Stern Wywiol Gruppe umbrella, now provides up to 70 percent MCT in a new spray-dried, powder application called NutriStern MCT. Its range of nutrition concepts include beverages and snack bars, while being suitable for ketogenic and low-carb diets. The company boasts it utilizes only natural, purely plant-based sources for the manufacture of its ingredient and offers MCT powder made from sustainably cultivated RSPO-certified palm kernel oil or alternatively high-quality coconut oil. The neutral taste and smell allow a wide range of individual flavors in the final products. Also, the NutriStern MCT powders are GMO- and allergen-free. 

In brief: Business news
Beneo spotlighted the oil-binding capacities of its sweet filler-binder coined galenIQ 721. Besides its sweet taste, the pharmaceutical grade of the company’s Isomalt helps agglomerate stability as well as flowability, while allowing for fast tablet disintegration. As a water-soluble filler-binder, galenIQ boasts a sucrose-like mouthfeel and flavor. Moreover, it is particularly suited for oily plant extracts, leaving them without significant off-notes or aftertaste, which enhances the palatability of tablets while promoting patient compliance. 

Beneo's sweet filler-binder galenIQ 721Specialty chemicals company Evonik declared it kept earnings stable despite facing economic headwinds. Adjusted EBITDA in 2019 was €2,153 billion (US$2,438 billion) compared to €2,150 billion (US$2,434 billion) in the previous year. Sales fell slightly by 1 percent to €13.1 billion. At the annual shareholders’ meeting on May 27, the executive and supervisory boards will be proposing a dividend of €1.15 per share.

Italian biotech company Gnosis by Lesaffre extended its marketing leaflet “Science Up” to comprise details about its Quatrefolic and Phosphocomplex ingredients, outlining their data-backed benefits.. The new Science Up leaflet focalizes the role of the polymorphism of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) enzyme in pregnancy issues, adding substantial information on the science behind Quatrefolic. Meanwhile, Phosphocomplex is a synergic complex of Silybin and Phosphatidylcholine with significant improved bioavailability targeting liver health. 

In brief: Research and studies
Healthy blood pressure is consumers’ top cardiovascular wellness goal, a Lycored-commissioned research found. The carotenoid company surveyed 505 men and women in the US and the UK over the age of 50 – a demographic chosen to be most likely to purchase supplements for cardiovascular health. Nearly seven in ten (68 percent) ranked healthy blood pressure as one of the three cardiovascular health goals they most wanted to achieve. Healthy blood cholesterol levels (61 percent), healthy arteries (55 percent) and a healthy circulatory system (45 percent) also scored highly. The findings come at the end of American Heart Health month, which aimed to raise awareness of cardiovascular conditions. Moreover, the American Heart Association estimates that more than 100 million US citizens have high blood pressure, which is a factor in tens of thousands of deaths per year.

Cardiovascular health ranks No. 1 in US and UK adults' health concerns.A joint research endeavor from the US, Canada and Australia has shown via animal experiments that curcumin can be delivered effectively into human cells via tiny nanoparticles, leading to not only cognitive deterioration prevention, but possible damage reversal. “Curcumin is a compound that suppresses oxidative stress and inflammation, both key pathological factors for Alzheimer's, and it also helps remove amyloid plaques, small fragments of protein that clump together in the brains of Alzheimer disease patients,” says co-author Professor Xin-Fu Zhou, Neuroscientist at the University of South Australia. The same delivery method is now being tested to show that curcumin can also prevent the spread of genital herpes, as the former can help to reduce inflammation and makes the genital herpes virus less susceptible to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

Dr. Richard Kingston, Co-Founder of SafetyCall International, educated congressional staffers on the types of evidence used to monitor dietary supplement safety, including adverse event reports, emergency room visits and poison control center data at the initial Congressional Dietary Supplement Caucus briefing of 2020. He emphasized that that media headlines are often eager to cite safety data on dietary supplements, but meanwhile often lack the proper context and overstate potential risk to consumers. Despite these challenges, Dr. Kingston noted that the dietary supplement industry has since exhibited a commitment to maintaining a safe marketplace, as the majority of US adults take dietary supplements each year. This may be explained by the development of consumer education campaigns or advocating for increased resources for FDA to enforce regulatory legislation.

In brief: Awards and recognitions
Sami-Sabinsa Group, a health science-oriented company, was thrice awarded by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) at the 3rd edition of its Beauty, Wellness and Personal Care Awards held in New Delhi, India. ASSOCHAM acknowledged Sami-Sabinsa Group’s Founder and Chairman Dr. Muhammed Majeed for his contribution toward shaping the Indian Cosmeceutical industry with the “Legend of Natural Cosmeceuticals” award. In addition, the Group received accolades for “Best Personal Care Product of the Year 2020” for its premium beauty product Johara Turmeric Bath Soap and “Best Cosmetic Ingredient Manufacturer of the Year” for Sami Labs Limited, a part of Sami-Sabinsa Group.

By Anni Schleicher