Page 20 - Food & Drink Magazine Sep-Oct 2020

INGREDIENTS
Making botanical advances
Natural plant extracts are in particularly high demand because of their synergistic potential and their ability to interact with multiple mechanisms within the body. Andrea Zangara from Euromed looks at the opportunities and challenges of botanical extracts.
PLANTS often produce phytochemicals as adaptive mechanisms, to help them survive in different environmental conditions or to ward off insects and herbivores. As such, researchers are increasingly looking at their effects on human health.
Euromed is a global supplier of standardised botanical compounds. We are inspired by the Mediterranean diet in researching and developing extracts for healthy ageing applications. For example, Mediteanox is a natural olive fruit extract that contains up to 40 per cent hydroxytyrosol — a powerful natural antioxidant.
The extract is clinically proven to contribute to better blood circulation and reduced LDL cholesterol levels, which are key factors in providing protection from atherosclerosis. Its antioxidant properties have been confirmed in in vitro and human studies.
Another patented natural ingredient with a similar provenance is Pomanox, a full-spectrum polyphenol pomegranate extract. Several human studies indicate it may support cardiovascular health.
For natural blood sugar control, the company offers ABAlife, a fig extract with a standardised abscisic acid (ABA) content.
ABA is a plant hormone but also naturally released by some human cells and plays an important role in managing blood glucose homeostasis, besides offering other stress-related benefits.
A clinical study in collaboration with the Sydney University Glycemic Index Research Service (SUGiRS) demonstrated glycaemic improvements in healthy people, suggesting ABA may be a beneficial dietary supplement
in terms of helping to maintain healthy blood sugar levels and an adjunctive treatment for chronic metabolic disorders such as prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
A more recent study shows that oral ABAlife administration improves glucose tolerance, insulin
20 | Food&Drink business | September-October 2020 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au