"Recent scientific findings, combined with steady growth in worldwide demand, have illuminated the need to ensure that [Sytrinol] will not only be in steady supply now and in the future, but continues to be of exceptional quality," said Jesse Lopez, founder, president and CEO of SourceOne.
"Our forecast is that required quantities of Sytrinol will double in 2006. We think demand will quadruple in the following year," he told NutraIngredients-USA.com.
Chicago-based SourceOne has owned the license for the intellectual property for Sytrinol since June 2003 and in October of the same year obtained the worldwide distribution rights, when it formed a strategic alliance with Canadian nutraceutical company KGK Synergize.
As well its location in Sichuan Province, which has a climate suited to the production of high quality citrus peels from which PMFs can be extracted at their peak, SourceOne was attracted by Chengdu Waggott's ability to produce PMFs on a scale that would be commensurate with demand.
Lopez told NutraIngredients-USA that a second heart healthy ingredient will be born of the relationship between SourceOne and Chengdu Waggott, and will be introduced to the supplements and functional foods markets in 2Q 2005.
An animal study carried out last year by the US Department of Agriculture and KGK Synergize claimed to be the first to show that PMFs from orange and tangerine peel shows promise in the lowering of LDL 'bad' cholesterol, without the possible side effects of conventional cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Sytrinol has so far been included in dietary supplement formulations, including Window Rock Health's Relesterol heart health product, which was launched this month. However Lopez said that in collaboration with another of SourceOne's partners a lecithin-based heart health nutritional bar containing Sytrinol and plant sterols will be introduced in the second half of 2005.
Sytrinol is claimed to offer a number of heart health benefits as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. It is also thought to positively affect three predictors of cardiovascular disease: C-reactive protein, which research suggests is produced by inflammation and may trigger sudden heart attacks; HDL component apolipoprotein A1, said to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease; and LDL component apolipoprotein B, which is said to increase the risk.