Albion receives CAS boost for chromium ingredient

21-Apr-2010 - Last updated on 22-Apr-2010 at 15:02 GMT

Albion Human Nutrition has received a CAS registration number for its chromium chelate ingredient, which the firm hopes will help open the doors to international markets.

The company currently sells chromium, a mineral thought to help fight insulin resistance, for use in dietary supplements in the USA, Canada, South and Central America, and South Africa.

According to Albion, the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registration will “help boost sales of this product by opening up doors into other markets like the EU.”

CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, provides globally recognized databases on chemical compounds. The CAS Registry is curated and quality-controlled by a team of global scientists.

Albion said it has been granted the CAS no. 1208240‐55‐4 for Chromium Nicotinate Glycinate Chelate (Chromium Chelate). As part of its application, the firm submitted data on the ingredient’s molecular formula, structure, and molecular weight, as well as QC results, said Albion director of sales and marketing Max Motyka.

Albion said it is preparing a dossier on its chromium chelate ingredient, which it will submit to the EU Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for evaluation, with the ultimate goal of selling its ingredient into the European dietary supplement market.

Diabetes and metabolic syndrome

“Chromium is part of the GTF (glucose tolerance factor), and as such is useful for people who suffer from type 2 diabetes that results of chromium deficiency,” Motyka told NutraIngredients-USA.com.

“There is some weight gain that can be associated with this problem that the chromium nicotinate glycinate can help in. Metabolic Syndrome is part of a complex of health concerns that is often associated with type 2 diabetes, which can result from insulin resistance. Chromium ingredients, like chromium nicotinate glycinate chelate can help fight insulin resistance.”

Albion claims its ingredient is “a highly bioavailable, well tolerated, and safe chromium form”, backed by animal studies which showed it to have a higher biovailability than some inorganic and organic chromium forms.

Chromium in Europe

Last year alone, EFSA issued a number of opinions on various forms of chromium for use in dietary supplements.

Chromium picolinate, and chromium(III) lactate trihydrate are amongst some of the forms to have received positive safety assessments in 2009.