by dolcasadmin1 | Mar 9, 2021 | News | 0 comments
12 May 2021 — NutraIngredients, a well respected leader for news and trends in the nutritional ingredient industry, has selected two of our products; BergacynFF and Morikol as finalists for Ingredient of the Year 2021. NutraIngredients annually celebrates the best and brightest of the dietary supplements, functional foods and beverages in the nutrition industry.
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Q: How did the formulation for Fortiquin™ come together, i.e. what was it based upon?
A: Fortiquin™ was inspired by the wisdom of the Ayurveda medical tradition, formulated to be both nourishing and balancing to a variety of systems, but with a synergistic emphasis on hormonal, neuronal and vascular functions.
Q: What are the actives in Fortiquin™?
A. Fortiquin™ contains many active molecules, but its unique formulation lends to a composite standard for saponins and flavonoids, which maintains the exclusive fingerprint for the blend.
Q: Why are extracts used in Fortiquin™ and not powders?
A. Extracts are used in Fortiquin™ so that the most active principles, those known to contribute to the biological effects of the individual herbs can be optimized in terms of concentration and quality.
Q: Is Fortiquin™ clinically-studied?
A. Yes – Fortiquin™ has been subjected to a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical study over the course of 8 weeks in 60 healthy men, age 18-60 years old experiencing reduced sexual stamina. The study has been completed and published results are expected soon.
Q: Are there any safety studies on Fortiquin™?
A. Not specifically, but safety parameters were evaluated for the ingredient during the 56-day clinical study and no significant changes were noted in vital signs or blood, serum or urine markers. There was no difference in mild side effects, of constipation and fatigue between the Fortiquin™ and placebo groups.
Q: What is the clinical dose for Fortiquin™?
A. The clinically studied dose of Fortiquin™ for supporting male sexual stamina is 500 mg, 2x per day.
Q: How soon can results be noticed?
A. In the clinical study, results were seen in as early as 4-weeks, but results were progressively better with continued use into the 8th week. No further data is available beyond 8-weeks.
Q: Will Fortiquin™ increase testosterone, or any other hormone levels?
A. We do not have data on this at this time, however we hope to evaluate this at a future time.
Q: Can women use Fortiquin™?
A. In theory, yes – because the individual components of this formulation have been used by both genders, however we only have clinical evidence at this time for Fortiquin’s use in males for the support of sexual stamina.
Q: What is meant by next-GENeration curcumin®?
A: The ‘next-GENeration’ label is being given to Curcugen® because of its unique sourcing material and food-state matrix i.e.oleoresin, the novel technology used to extract high levels of curcuminoids from this starting material while maintaining a diverse spectrum of other turmeric constituents, and the versatility of its formulation across the dietary supplement, food and beverage industry. Further, this term obliges the highest of industry standards of substantiation, by taking up a comprehensive safety and clinical research program.
Q: What is Curcugen’s® composition?
A: Curcugen® is 98.5% turmeric-oleoresin derived, is standardized to 50% curcuminoids and contains both turmeric essential oils and ‘polar’ turmeric resins.Further, it contains 1.5% of a flow agent.
Q: What are ‘polar’ resins?
A: Turmeric oleoresins include resins that polar and non-polar in character. The Self-D™ technology is able to capture the polar resins, meaning those with an electrical charge. The benefit of the polar resins, which are novel to the Curcugen® brand, is that when they are complexed with curcuminoids, they attract water toward the molecule, overcoming curcumin’s natural hydrophobicity. In a fluid medium the matrix is activated allowing for a slow release function and a dispersing quality.
Q: How is Curcugen® different than turmeric oleoresin?
A: Curcugen® is an optimized turmeric oleoresin extract. Through the Self-D technology, the more ‘polar’ resins are retained, along with some essential oils; they are complexed with curcuminoids, which are enriched to a 50% standard. Turmeric oleoresin itself contains resins in their natural form, not optimized for bioavailability and curcuminoids in a much smaller concentration.
Q: How is Curcugen® different than 95% curcuminoids?
A: 95% curcuminoids are derived from turmeric oleoresin. 95% curcuminoids are a purified form of the oleoresin, whereby the essential oils and resins are lost during manufacturing. Again, Curcugen® retains both essential oils and the more ‘functional’ resins, while maintaining a significantly substantial concentration of curcuminoids, at a 50% standard.
Q: How many more times bioavailable is Curcugen® than unformulated curcumin?
A: Curcugen® is 39-times more bioavailable than unformulated/95%-curcuminoids, as demonstrated by a 18-subject cross-over designed study.
Q: What is the clinical dose for Curcugen®?
A: The clinical dose for Curcugen® is between 500-1000 mg per day.
Q: Is Curcugen® a clinically-studied ingredient?
A: Yes. Curcugen® is being evaluated clinically. A pharmacokinetics/bioavailability study and (3) clinical studies have already been initiated on the ingredient. See the ‘Clinical Research’ tab on Curcugen’s product page for additional information.
Q: Is Curcugen® safe?
A. Yes. Curcugen® has been proven to be safe according to OECD Safety testing. The acute toxicity study resulted in a LD50 > 5,000 mg/kg and the sub-chronic, repeat dose, 90-day toxicity study has confirmed safety in an animal model at > 2000 mg/kg/day. See the ‘Safety’ tab on Curcugen’s product page for additional information.
Q: Is Curcugen® GRAS?
A. Curcugen® has not been established as GRAS as of yet, however it is pending a self-affirmed GRAS determination at this time.
Q; Is Curcugen® dispersible in water?
A. Yes. Curcugen® is water-dispersible. However, it is not water-soluble.
Q. What is the clinically studied dose of Bergacyn FF?
A. The clinical dose of Bergacyn FF is 600 mg per day. Bergacyn FF has been trialed as a single 600 mg dose once per day, and separately in divided doses of 300 mg twice per day. Both human clinical studies supported Bergacyn FF in its promotion of healthier liver fat levels.
Q. Should Bergacyn FF be taken with or without food?
A. In both clinical studies, Bergacyn FF was administered with food.
Q. That is the composition of Bergacyn FF?
A. Bergacyn FF is a micronized and co-grinded blend of the juice extract and pulp of Bergamot citrus fruits (Citrus bergamia), and the solvent-free extract of a wild-type of artichoke leaves (Cynara cardunculus, sylvestris)
Q. Is Bergacyn FF patented?
A. Bergacyn FF is patented for composition, manufacturing process and application in the therapeutic support of healthy liver fat levels.
Q. Is Bergacyn FF consistent from batch to batch?
A. Yes, Bergacyn FF is standardized by process to consistently result in no less than 17% bergamot polyphenols (inclusive of neo-hesperitdin, naringin, bruteridin, melitidin and neo-eriocitrin) and 5% cynaropicrin from artichoke leaf.
Q. Are solvents used in the production of Bergacyn FF?
A. Bergacyn is a completely solvent-free extract.
Q. Is Bergacyn FF a free-flowing ingredient?
A. The novel use of bergamot pulp fibers helps the material maintain a free flow during production runs and allows for the promotion as ‘excipient free’ when formulated alone or with other free-flowing materials.
Q. Would a combination of Bergamot extract and Artichoke extract afford the same benefit as Bergacyn FF?
A. Bergacyn FF undergoes a patented production process that includes the addition of bergamot fibers, and further consists of a method of co-grinding and micronization. A clinical study evidenced that the method of preparation activated synergistic value that is not available in the standalone extracts of either ingredient.
Q. What does the FF in Bergacyn stand for?
A. The ‘FF’ in Bergacyn FF stands for free-flowing, which is a novel benefit of the addition of bergamot albedo fibers.
Q. Does Bergacyn FF have support of safety studies?
A. Bergacyn FF has been subjected to 28-day and 90-day repeat-dose, toxicity studies and found not to exhibit any safety concerns or changes.
Q. What clinical findings prove Bergacyn FF claim of vascular support?
A. In the 16-week study of Bergacyn FF on fatty liver and vascular changes in Diabetic subjects, the Reactive Hyperemia Index (RHI) increased by >0.5 in the Bergacyn FF group where it went down in the placebo group. RHI is an index of vascular health, wherein an increase above 2 is strongly suggestive of cardiovascular protection.
Q. How much weight was lost in the Bergacyn FF group over the placebo group in the clinical study on Metabolic Syndrome in which overweight and obese subjects in both groups were subjected to a 400-500 calorie restriction?
A. The Bergacyn FF group lost 9.6 lbs., whereas the placebo group only lost 5.2 lbs. In the 12-week study, the diet, plus Bergacyn FF group lost nearly 2X the weight of the diet, plus placebo group.
Q. How does Bergacyn FF compare to other actives for liver health, like silymarin?
A. Bergacyn FF really has star potential at such a low dose. Many of the other studies done on other actives like silymarin, NAC, bergamot polyphenols as a standalone, vitamin E or even berberine require doses well over 1 gram/day and have not shown complementary liver fat support effects, including promotion of healthy weight, support of vascular health, etc. as has been proven with Bergacyn FF.
Q. Does Bergacyn FF offer any bioavailability enhancements that overcome absorption concerns known to polyphenol-based actives?
A.The addition of bergamot fibers has proven to enhance the bioavailability of Bergacyn FF polyphenols including naringin, chlorogenic acid and luteolin by an average of 2.5X.
Q. Does Bergacyn FF contain any bergamottin?
A.Bergacmottin is a furanocoumarin, with known CYP-450 inhibitory activity found in the pulp and peel of the bergamot fruit. Every batch of Bergacyn FF is tested for bergamottin and its levels are consistently found to be negligible.
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Q: Is MoriKol® tested for environmental contaminants?
A: Yes. MoriKol® is assayed for and complies with all regulated limits of detection for 40+ antibiotics, PCBs and heavy metals including mercury, lead, arsenic and cadmium.
Q: Is MoriKol® FMD and BSE-free?
A: Yes. MoriKol® is 100% FMD and BSE-free, but this is by default – as these diseases do not develop in marine/pescine sources, but can be the result of unscrupulous practices in the rearing of land animals, i.e cows. The majority of collagen on the market is bovine (cow) sourced, so this can still pose even small concerns, even when a product certifies themselves as ‘BSE and FMD-free’, because low-level, untraceble levels or the prions that causes these diseases may persist in the source material, and can still transfer to the human or animal that consumes them.
Q: What marine source is MoriKol® from?
A: MoriKol® is a clean-cultivation, Kosher sourced fish.
Q: What is the molecular weight distribution?
A: The molecular weight of MoriKol® is between 200-2000 Da, or < 1500 Da on average. The 15% tripeptide component of which average ~ 280 Da.
Q: Are there any allergens?
A: No. Our tests result show MoriKol® to be devoid of any Egg, Gluten, Peanut, Soybean, Milk, Almond, of Crustacean allergens.
Q: Don’t all collagen products have tripeptides?
A: Yes and No; most collagen products will have some very low molecular weight peptides, such as those in the low range under 300 Da – but the quantity thereof is quite negligible. Most hydrolyzed collagen products demonstrate a predictible bell curve, whereby the majority of peptides are in the middle of the bell curve, centered about the median peptide value. However, MoriKol’s® low molecular weight collagen peptides (LMWCP) show a much more skewed curve, with two peaks showing a significant portion of peptides in the tripeptide range. This is the minimum 15% standard that we promote. Conversely, tripeptides in most other collagen hydrosylates are in the low 0-1% range.
Q: What does the 15% tripeptide standard have to do with bioavailability?
A: Bi- and Tripeptides of collagen are the smallest absorbable peptide units. They have both been measured in the serum intact, either meaning that bipeptides have been predigested from tripeptides and absorbed, or that they too are absorbed directly from their available source material. MoriKol’s® LMWCP deliver a 15% concentration of tripeptides, whereby in other products this amount is not guaranteed, and moreover tend to be available in negligible quantities. Because bi- and tripeptides are absorbed intact (i.e. more bioavailable), and/or require minimal predigestion activities, their action is more direct and predictable. Bi and tripeptides directly serve as collagen repair buidling blocks, or through indirect action, stimulate fibrobrast recruitment and collagen deposition.
Q: What does bioavailability have to do with bioefficacy?
A. Because more tripeptides are predictably and directly delivered to the body (e.g. areas of collagen breakdown), the results of a 64-women DBPCR-trial has shown remarkable results at an industry-low dose of LMWCP of only 1g/day. Additionally, some of the beneficial results of these LMWCP showed significance as early as 6 weeks after intake. Most hydrolyzed collagen products show beneficial effects at higher doses, and often times after 12-weeks of intake.
Q: What is the importance of 1g/day dose?
A: Being able to supply a clinically-proven dose of collagen at 1g/day is completely novel. The molecular weight of a product has a lot to do with the amount of bulk/room it occupies. Larger molecular weight collagen hydrolysate products, therefore traditionally required high doses. As hydrolysates have gotten smaller and smaller over time, the required doses to obtain clinical value has also come down, yet none have come down as low as MoriKol®.
For this reason, nearly all collagen products on the market are sold in tubs, or containers with free flowing powder and scoop/tablespoon sizes are required per day. Generally holding about 500 mg, encapsulated collagen products are definitely available on the market, they tend not to sell as well as powders – as the requirement is often times 6-10, or even 20 capsules per day. Capsules are supposed to a convenient delivery system, but this is definitely NOT convenient! MoriKol’s® full dose can be obtained in ONLY (2) capsules/d.
Q: What makes TruOliv a ‘full spectrum’ extract?
A: TruOliv™ utilizes the whole olive fruit and leaf and does not process them under any chemical or synthetic reactions. Because many of olive’s polyphenols are very similar in chemical structure, the use of imposed chemical reactions can discriminately concentrate levels of interest polyphenols, while sacrificing others found in a more natural spectrum. Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) is prepared from table olives by a purely physical process. Approximately, 36 polyphenols have been identified in olive oil as a result.
Four-generations of olive expertise informs a patent-pending prescription for producing TruOliv™, which includes the chronology of olive and leaf harvesting, their ratios and concentrations, which actualizes the ‘full spectrum’ dynamism of TruOliv™. Our testing confirms the presence of nearly 1/3rd* of all the polyphenols that are known to exist in EVOO.
Q: What are the benefits of using the leaf and fruit vs. waste water or only fruit or only leaf?
A: Olive waste water is a natural byproduct of olive oil production. Previous to the oil separation phase, olives undergo crushing and mixing with water. Because many of the polyphenols are hydrophilic, many of them remain in the water. However, as olive oil is produced from mature olives, which have autogenously (within the olive) converted the majority of native oleuropein, characteristic of the immature fruit – the waste water reflects this same profile: high levels of hydroxytyrosol, with little to no oleoropein.
The commercial products of waste water extract, also generally undergo a solvent-extraction step to further purify and concentrate HT. Using the leaf and whole olive fruit, allows for a characteristic blend of polyphenols that are synergistic, and further the solvent-FREE process avails these polyphenols in a chemical-free, organically-certified format.
Q: What is unique about TruOliv’s growing conditions?
A: TruOliv™ olives and leaves are grown in the Saharan desert of Northern Africa (Morocco). The olives and leaves grown in these conditions endure extreme stress and as a result, natuarally produce olives with higher polyphenols concentrations. Polyphenols are secondary metabolites of plants, and while they are useful adjuncts to the human diet, they are crucial components to a plant’s survival.
Desert conditions are extreme conditions, to which only the most resilient of plants can survive. Studies investigating this phenomenon have helped to uncovers some of the involved mechanisms, including the activation of phenalylanine lyase, a polyphenol production catalyst using simulated desert conditions, such as Regulated Deficit Irrigation practices.
Q: Is the product standardized?
A: YES. Although the TruOliv™ does not undergo solvent or hydrolysis reactions and is 100% pure olive fruit and leaf derived it is not a simple powder of these dried materials. The use of physical extraction techniques and desert enrichment results in an extract that is 10% Total Polyphenols, 6% Oleuropein, and 2% Hydroxytyrosol.
Q: What makes the product more bioavailable?
A: Because the product is made using the whole fruit, there are trace amounts of olive oil incorporated in the product. Independently done bioavailability studies on olive polyphenols, i.e. hydroxytyrosol show that HT is more bioavailable in a lipid medium, than when found in a purely aqueous medium.
Q: Why not just consume olives/olive oil?
A: You would have to consume 20+ tablespoons of olive oil (approximately 1.25 cups), which would result in over 3,000 calories just from fat (nearly 2 days worth of food), to receive just the Hydroxytyrosol quantity found in a suggested daily dose of TruOliv™. This quantity does not additionally take into consideration other synergist polyphenols.