Do not underestimate the richness of this resource! Together with the professionalism and technical expertise being employed in the extraction and commercialisation process – Peru is rapidly becoming one of the most important and exciting places for the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

Peru is in the top ten of mega-diverse countries in the
world. Its forest coverage, Andean terrain and its variety of microclimates create perfect conditions for healthy ecosystems -resulting in a thriving biological diversity.

To ensure the preservation of this natural heritage and sustainability of the industry for future generations the United Nations Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), with help from foreign investment, established the BioTrade project to regulate the production, transformation and commercialisation of biodiversity. Extraction and regeneration are carefully balanced using methodologies which take into account traditional knowledge as well as ecological and socio-economic criteria.

This article is available in full in the Winter 2011 issue of Nutraceuticals Now

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Despite a struggling economy, the US nutritional products industry was estimated to have reached 117 billion dollars in 2010, a 6% growth over the previous year. With 65% of US adults, roughly 150 million people, labeling themselves as supplement users , the opportunity for nutritional product manufacturers has not gone unnoticed. In fact, the number of nutritional supplements on US store shelves has surged from 4,000 to an estimated 75,000 since the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, or DSHEA, was passed in 1994.

This fantastic growth and proliferation of new products has created new challenges for the industry in terms of standardizing safety and quality, not to mention the regulatory hurdles that come with a globalized supply chain. To establish quality-control standards for US nutritional products, the US Food and Drug Administration introduced Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) regulations in 2007. GMPs require that the processes by which nutritional supplement ingredients are produced are safer and free of possible contamination. This includes all aspects of the manufacturing process, from raw material control to finished product release, as well as training of personnel, qualification and validation of testing equipment and methods, product traceability and facility maintenance.

Why does this matter to a Europe-based nutritional product manufacturer? As of last year, every organization that wishes to participate in the booming US nutritional products industry must demonstrate compliance to these GMP regulations. Although European nutritional product manufacturers are no strangers to meeting rigorous regulations, they have the unique challenge of demonstrating compliance to both EU and US regulations, which have few similarities.

The cost of noncompliance is steep and many manufacturers are still struggling to comply as evident by a 42% increase in warning letters issued by the US FDA in 2010 . Noncompliance with US GMPs can trigger a number of undesirable outcomes: public warning letters, products labeled as adulterated, seizure by authorities, injunction from manufacturing, and damage to brand and company reputation.

This article is available in full in the Winter 2011 issue of Nutraceuticals Now

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In a time where consumers are looking to improve their health with products that are natural, safe and environmentally friendly, there is space for innovation, and the tea market is not an exception. The new generation of tea products must bring the benefits of teas in unique natural forms, ensuring efficacious products that adjust to the needs of its users and fulfill the growing market demand on natural and safe high quality products to the consumer’s overall health.

Antioxidants can prevent the formation of damaging oxidative radicals thus decreasing oxidative stress, one of the factors believed to be responsible for several chronic diseases and aging. Nowadays, antioxidants are perceived as healthy, with 23% and 53% of the general population feeling that they are deficient in antioxidants, and willing to add more antioxidants to their diet, respectively. Based on this growing consumer demand, the antioxidant market appears as an attractive, large and growing market.

Tea is a major contributor to the global antioxidant market, with 77% of the users consuming tea for their overall health and 70% to promote anti-aging. Thus, the tea market offers several opportunities, as tea is the most popular beverage in the world after water, and a product that mainstream consumers can easily relate to. Moreover, tea is perceived as safe and healthy, with 61% of the people believing that tea contains components that reduce the risk of disease. Generally, consumers are looking to improve their overall health with products that are natural, environmentally friendly, and exhibit a high safety profile, while also having scientific evidence of efficacy.

This article is available in full in the Winter 2011 issue of Nutraceuticals Now

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It has been more than two decades since Dr. Stephen DeFelice, along with Steve McNamara, Esq, introduced the coined the term “nutraceuticals” that ultimately contributed to the development of a new global industry now valued at nearly $12 billion. Popular products, such as probiotics, components of soy, tomatoes, fish, tea and an array of herbal and non-herbal extracts have been the target of considerable research since those early days. This movement within the food industry, intersected with the dietary supplements industry, has prompted the development of many health claims directed to consumers burgeoning for improved health.

The prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes, continues to rise. At least one of these diseases affects more than two-thirds of those living in the United States. Thus, there are numerous opportunities for the respective industries, from cultivars planted in the fields to innovated food and food component management technologies to have a positive impact on health.

Importantly, there has been considerable research in the arenas of cancer reduction, blood lipid profile improvement, antioxidant potential, anti-inflammatory applications, and bone health. These research areas, which involve multiple disciplines, target largely plant-derived components such as isoprenoids, phenolic compounds, proteins and amino acids, carbohydrates and their derivatives, fatty acids and structured lipids, various minerals, and even microbial-impacting substances like probiotics and prebiotics.

The food chemistry of substances within these areas is quite interesting. On the other hand, what is critical to this chemistry is our understanding of their metabolism (aka metabolic fate) within the traditional ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion) assessment among humans. Most of the physiological data are derived from animal studies and cell culture models. Importantly, there is dearth of pharmacokinetics data on the majority of these compounds. For example, a few pharmacokinetic studies on resveratrol, the dominate polyphenolic in red wine, indicate maximum plasma level of this compound and its metabolites is achieved within 1-2 hours, has a half-life of about
9 hours, and is mostly eliminated within about 4 hrs via urine. Notably, only about 70% of resveratrol is absorbed.

Reaching beyond nutraceuticals, research is leaning towards pharmanutrition. Again, using resveratrol as an example for clinical implications, such as inflammation and cardiovascular disease, it takes about 60 mg daily for at least 6 weeks to reduce some forms of inflammation, and as much as 500 mg to reduce risk some factors associated with cardiovascular disease. Considering some red wines may contain as much as 4 – 6 mg of resveratrol per 4 oz (120 mL) serving, one would need to routinely consume 15 to 100 servings to achieve some of these health benefits.

The concept of nutraceuticals and functional foods has considerable merit. The research in this arena requires additional research in chemistry, classic clinical assessments, and traditional pharmacological evaluation consistent with standards outlined by the International Conference on Harmonization. For consumer benefits and clinical applications future studies must consist of well-designed clinical trials. In addition, the nutraceutical industry must provide sufficient evidence that is strong, consistent, clinically relevant, and generalizable to the population.

Roger Clemens
President, Institute of Food Technologists

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The Winter 2011 issue of Nutraceuticals Now is now available.

Excerpts of featured articles are available on this website:

Kemin: Innovation in tea
NSF: Learning from the mistakes of others
Peruvian natural resources

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