Ostinol is a protein complex that Zycal claims can help stimulate growth of osteoblasts and chondroblasts, the cells responsible for bone formation and cartilage formation respectively. The companies are due to present and discuss information regarding oral use of osteoinductive proteins in both animal and human studies at Supply Side West next month.
President and CEO of Zycal Bioceuticals James Scaffidi told NutraIngredients-USA.com that Ostinol could also help other bone and joint health ingredients to work better, which could be particularly interesting for the supplements industry in light of the recent meta-analysis suggesting that glucosmine and chondroitin may not be as effective as previously thought.
“This is really a breakthrough in nutragenomics,” he said, and added that the ingredient could be useful for osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis is characterized by low bone mass, which leads to an increase risk of fractures, especially the hips, spine and wrists. The condition is currently second only to cardiovascular disease in terms of global healthcare burden, according to the World Health Organization, affecting about 200 million people today, but the number of sufferers could be set to increase as people live longer, and rising obesity rates add extra strain on bones.
As for the distribution agreement with Pharmline, Scaffidi said: “Pharmline brings to the table a certain level of expertise…We have worked with them now over the last seven months and looked at their abilities in the market.”
Brand manager at Pharmline Greg Berthomieu said that ZyCal is developing plans to secure US GRAS [generally recognized as safe] status for the ingredient.
“Timing at this point is unknown but it is a priority for 2011,” he said.
He said in a statement: “As newly formed osteoblasts and chondroblasts will use calcium, chondroitin and other building blocks to produce new bone and cartilage tissues, Ostinol does not replace existing formulas but rather has a synergetic effect with potential combinations of tremendous value.”