Albion gets patent for hypoallergenic metal chelates
The US Patent #7,838,042, entitled “Hypoallergenic Metal Amino Acid Chelates and Metal Amino Acid Chelate Containing Compositions”, refers specifically to the composition, preparation, administration, and formulation of hypoallergenic metal amino acid chelates and products containing hypoallergenic metal amino acid chelates.
Metal amino acid chelates are organic (as in organic chemistry) forms of the minerals. Typical mineral ingredients are the salt form, like calcium carbonate, for example. The chelate is said to mimic the way the minerals are found naturally in meat like poultry and fish, whereas the mineral form in fruit and vegetables is reported to be the salt form.
According to Albion: “A metal amino acid chelate is the product resulting from the reaction of a metal ion with amino acids having a mole ratio of one mole of metal to one to three (preferably two) moles of amino acids to form coordinate covalent bonds”.
The new patent refers to a hypoallergenic form of the ingredient, and Max Motyka, director of sales & marketing at Albion Human Nutrition, confirmed that the bioavailability is the same as the non-hypoallergenic metal amino acid chelates, which is superior to the inorganic salt forms.
“The minerals we are talking about are: calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, molybdenum, chromium, and vanadium,” added Motyka.
Motyka told NutraIngredients-USA that the recent patent is ‘only about 3 weeks old’ (it was issued on November 23), and that the company’s Ferrochel ingredient is currently the only GRAS (generally recognized as safe) hypoallergenic chelates in the USA for food fortification.
Sensitivities and allergies
The hypoallergenic ingredients have been launched in response to the growing incidence of food and chemical sensitivities and allergies.
