Cognitive function

Diabetes epidemic, settlement of patent suit means bright future for chromium, Nutrition 21 says

26-Mar-2014 By Hank Schultz

The market for chromium is growing, driven by the ongoing tide of obesity and diabetes, said Bill Levi of Nutrition 21, which supplies Chromax, a patented form of chromium picolinate.

Chromadex CEO: ‘We think Niagen has a much bigger market, like omega-3’

26-Mar-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

The potential of nicotinamide riboside, the next generation vitamin B3, goes beyond dietary supplements, into functional food and beverages, medical foods, infant nutrition and more, says the CEO of Chromadex.

Extract of succulent has dual action in moderating anxiety, study shows

25-Mar-2014 By Hank Schultz

A study published released recently on Zembrin, a branded extract of Sceletium tortousom, shows the product’s effects within the amygdala, the portion of the brain stem where the body’s “threat circuitry” lies.

Frutarom jumps into the omega-3 sea

25-Mar-2014

The health division of Swiss ingredients player Frutarom has launched omega-3s for the first time with the company noting their potential in heart, brain and eye health along with inflammation and general well-being.

Vegans respond ‘robustly’ to algal-derived omega-3 fatty acid supplement

24-Mar-2014 By Stephen Daniells

The omega-3 index of vegans is low, but no lower than the levels measured in omnivores, says a new study, which also supports the efficacy of an algal-derived omega-3 supplement to boost EPA and DHA levels.

Folic acid: The double-edge sword of the golden micronutrient

21-Mar-2014

Folic acid is backed to deliver important health benefits in the scientific literature and by regulators – but is over-consumption a real problem? asks Robert Verkerk, PhD, the founder, executive and scientific director of the Alliance for Natural Health...

Kratom distributor recalls all products in wake of FDA import alert

18-Mar-2014 By Hank Schultz

SNI National has voluntarily recalled all of its products that contain kratom, an ingredient whose legality has been questioned by the Food and Drug Administration.

Diet high in animal protein may help prevent functional decline

13-Mar-2014 By Nathan Gray

A diet high in animal protein could help elderly people to function better physically, psychologically and socially, say researchers.

Omega-3 supplements may boost neuropsychological measures for kids who need most support

04-Mar-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

Daily supplements of omega-3 fatty acids may improve attention, processing speed, executive function and hand-to-eye coordination in malnourished children, scientists report.

Vitamin D may have direct effect on brain development, social behaviour and autism

27-Feb-2014 By Nathan Gray

Vitamin D could have a 'critical influence' levels of serotonin in the brain and may directly effect social behaviours associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), according to new research.

Polysaccharide supplement may boost memory, suggests study

21-Feb-2014 By Hank Schultz

Mannatech, a network marketing company based in Coppell, TX, has announced the results of clinical trial showing memory support benefits for its polysaccharide dietary supplment formulation called Ambrotose. The trial showed improved performance on standard...

Euromonitor: Strong momentum to propel global omega-3 sales

18-Feb-2014 By Hank Schultz

The omega-3 market continues to grow and appears to have unstoppable momentum worldwide, according to expert Diana Cowland, who keeps tabs on the sector for Euromonitor International.

Lonza and DSM settle omega-3 patent dispute

18-Feb-2014

Ingredients giants DSM and Lonza have settled a patent dispute over production of algal-sourced omega-3 oils (DHA) that lasted for almost ten years.

Omega-3 backed for Alzheimer’s disease potential

18-Feb-2014 By Nathan Gray

Supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids could help to prevent and even reverse the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by stimulating newly identified ‘resolution pathways’, according to research outlining an ‘entirely new’ approach to the condition.

Dr Alex Richardson Q&A: Nutritional Lipids for Mood and Behaviour

14-Feb-2014 By Nathan Gray

On the back of huge interest and too little time in her presentation and following Q&A session at yesterday's Nutritional Lipids and Oils online event, we put some more of your questions to Dr Alex Richardson.

Register now for our exclusive free to attend event

Nutritional Lipids and Oils online event: TODAY

12-Feb-2014 By Nathan Gray

Our exclusive online event, offering the latest market information and scientific insights in for the nutritional lipids and oils market takes place today. But it's not too late to register.

Can EPA-rich supplements help brains work 'less hard' and boost mental performance?

10-Feb-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

Omega-3 supplements rich in EPA may improve cognitive performance with a reduction in neural activity observed, indicating that the brain worked ‘less hard’, report researchers from Australia.

Omega-3 rich diet linked to more developed brain networks: Monkey data

07-Feb-2014 By Nathan Gray

Monkeys that consume a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids have more developed neural networks than those who do not, according to new research.

Canada OKs enhanced health claims for Ixoreal's KSM 66 ashwagandha

07-Feb-2014 By Hank Schultz

KSM-66, an ashwagandha root-only extract from Ixoreal BioMed, has been approved in Canada for health claims that include stress reduction, sports nutrition benefits and support for healthy testosterone levels.  The approval of the claims, which go beyond...

Study urges more exploration of fermented foods’ yet untold benefits

07-Feb-2014 By Maggie Hennessy

The microbiological activity of fermented foods could bridge the gap between two separate areas of research: one linking fermented food to mental health benefits and the other examining traditional dietary patterns, according to a review published in the...

DSM leads charge to raise global vitamin E intake recommendations

06-Feb-2014

Global vitamins leader DSM is calling on authorities to raise vitamin E intake recommendations after hosting a workshop and posting a paper on the issue that highlight public health threatening global deficiencies.

New study supports Sensoril's psychomotor benefits in healthy subjects

05-Feb-2014 By Hank Schultz

A new study on the ashwagandha ingredient Sensoril shows its ability to significantly improve cognitive and psychomotor performance during simple reaction, choice discrimination, digit symbol substitution, digit vigilance and card sorting tests in healthy...

IFOS opens certification door to omega-3 suppliers

29-Jan-2014

Croda has become the first omega-3 supplier to win a QC certification from the voluntary International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS) which has previously focused on branded products.

Special edition: Polyphenols

The big challenges in polyphenols: Providing credible evidence and a quality supply chain

28-Jan-2014 By Nathan Gray

With surging interest in the potential health benefits of polyphenols around the globe, experts suggest that there are still some major sticking points in the polyphenol success story.

Special edition: Polyphenols

Polyphenol science needs to catch up to better inform regulators and consumers, say experts

28-Jan-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

A paradigm shift is needed in the study of polyphenols to better understand the bioavailability, bio-activity, and the role of the gut microbiota in polyphenol metabolism and health benefits, say experts from academia and industry.

Special Edition: Polyphenols

Callebaut: More specific cocoa flavanol content claims will increase

28-Jan-2014 By Maggie Hennessy

Despite the growing body of research extolling the health benefits of flavanols found in cocoa, chocolate product manufacturers have yet to fully embrace front-of-pack claims calling out these compounds—with many still opting for more general “antioxidant”...

Plant-sourced omega-3 science builds but don’t fry fish oil supply, says IFFO

27-Jan-2014 By Shane STARLING

An international marine ingredients group says overfishing is a concern, but one that is being managed, and fish will remain a sustainable and reliable omega-3 source in the long term future.

Omega-3 may help preserve brain volume in old age: Study

23-Jan-2014

People with higher levels of the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA may also have larger brain volumes in old age equivalent to preserving one to two years of brain health, according to new research.

Recent warning letters shows FDA still has foot on medical foods pedal

22-Jan-2014 By Hank Schultz

Two warning letters issued after Christmas and made public recently by FDA underscore the agency’s focus on the medical food category, said an expert in the field who advises companies on staying on the right side of the boundaries.

Frutarom backing botanical science in 2014

15-Jan-2014

Swiss ingredients giant Frutarom will publish at least four trials this year from its suite its suite of botanical extracts and blends as it revamps the classification and presentation of its wares.

Caffeine consumption could help to boost long-term memory: Study

13-Jan-2014 By Nathan Gray

Caffeine consumption could have a positive effect on long-term memory, according to new research that suggested the compound can enhance memories for at least up to 24 hours after it is consumed.

‘Unprecedented in its potential impact’: Could new anti-cancer study re-ignite the kava market?

10-Jan-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

A patent-pending blend of compounds from kava with none of the potentially adverse liver effects may see the much-maligned herb re-emerge in the dietary supplement space, say researchers from the University of Minnesota.

Focus on bio-availability and not just label claims to make people nutrient replete: Ashoka fellow

09-Jan-2014 By Stephen Daniells

The food and nutrition industries should be focusing on bioavailablity and bioefficacy of nutrients, and not just on big numbers on product labels, says a leading social entrepreneur who has spent over a decade boosting the nutritional status of the severely...

FDA warns consumers about supplements making brain trauma protection claims

06-Jan-2014 By Hank Schultz

The Food and Drug Administration has put industry on notice that it won’t tolerate the rising tide of dietary supplement ingredients being marketed for their role in ameliorating the effects of traumatic brain injury.

Most vitamin studies are flawed by poor methodology, say Linus Pauling researchers

06-Jan-2014 By Nathan Gray

Many large clinical trials of vitamin supplements, including those concluding vitamins are of no value or may even be harmful, have a flawed methodologies that means they are 'useless' in determining the real value of such micronutrients, according...

Warning letter underscores FDA view of extraction and concentration as factors in NDI status

03-Jan-2014 By Hank Schultz

A warning letter from FDA to Star Scientific, makers of an antioxidant supplement called Anatabloc, underscores again the agency’s focus on the status of New Dietary Ingredients.

‘Significant’: Vitamin E may slow functional decline in moderate Alzheimer patients

02-Jan-2014 By Stephen DANIELLS

Daily supplements of vitamin E (alpha tocopherol) may slow functional decline in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, say results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, randomized clinical trial.

BCAAs, Vitamin Angels, and adulteration of botanicals: Key lessons from NutraIngredients-USA’s special editions – Part 2

20-Dec-2013 By Stephen DANIELLS

From brain health to muscle building, and from malnutrition to botanicals, our special editions have set record traffic levels for their in-depth articles and exclusive content. Here, we have the second part of our round-up of the key lessons from the...

Probiota 2014, February 4-5, Amsterdam

Probiota 2014: The ultimate pre- and probiotic science-business blend

19-Dec-2013 By Shane STARLING

Probiota 2014 – relocated from Brussels to Amsterdam and organised by NutraIngredients – will bring together the finest scientific and commercial minds operating in the pre- and probiotic sector in a 2-day, 2-stream event.

In life and diets: nothing is perfect

18-Dec-2013 By Judy Blatman, Senior Vice President, Communications, Council for Responsible Nutrition

If only I lived in a perfect world, like, say, Dr. Edgar Miller, one of the five doctors who have determined from on high via their editorial in the Annals of Internal Medicine, that no one needs to take a multivitamin.

Neptune, Aker end patent struggles with licensure agreement

17-Dec-2013 By Hank Schultz

Some things have seemed immutable: Death. Taxes. The Krill Wars. But the latter has (mostly) fallen off that list with the announcement this morning that fierce competitors Neptune Technologies & Bioressources and Aker BioMarine have reached an 11th-hour...

Stop wasting money on supplements, say physicians. Stop trying to position supplements as cures for disease, say industry groups

16-Dec-2013 By Stephen DANIELLS

An editorial panel of medical doctors (MDs) says the case is now closed for multivitamins: they don’t help well-nourished adults. But leading trade associations have defended the safety and efficacy of the products, calling the editorial, ‘close-minded,...

Purified omega-7 supplement hits market

13-Dec-2013 By Hank Schultz

A supplement called Cardia7, built around the benefits of omega-7 palmitoleic acid, a long chain fatty acid found in fish oil as well as sea buckthorn berries and macadamia nuts, has been launched by Ohio-based Omega Wonders.

Grant of patent vindicates cognitive support supplement's protracted gestation, researcher says

12-Dec-2013 By Hank Schultz

The patent granted on Perceptiv, a cognitive support dietary supplement, is a vindication of the approach taken on developing the product, one of the researchers says.  From the start the team worked on a finished, fixed formulation and painstakingly...

New form of CoQ10 hits supplement market

09-Dec-2013 By Hank Schultz

A new form of CoQ10 has hit the market with the launch of an antioxidant supplement by New Zealand-based manufacturer MitoQ Ltd.  As is often the case with this particular ingredient, the company’s marketing message is based on claims of greater bioavailability.

IFFO welcomes UK retailer support for responsible fish oil sourcing

09-Dec-2013 By Shane STARLING

UK retailers like Morrisons’, Sainsbury’s and Tesco are backing an international ‘responsible’ fish oil certification earned by 100 processing factories in 9 countries and representing 40% of global fish oil and fishmeal outputs.

Probiotic therapy alleviates autism-like behaviors in mice: Study

06-Dec-2013 By Nathan Gray

Probiotic supplementation may help to reverse changes in gut bacteria and gut physiology that are linked to autism spectrum disorders, according to new research in mice.

Review questions vitamin D for reducing chronic disease risk

06-Dec-2013 By Stephen DANIELLS

Low vitamin D levels may be a consequence of ill health and not the cause of chronic disease, says a new review, but industry groups have responded that supplementation is vital for bone health and should not be dismissed.

Acai and brain health: Has study unlocked Amazonian fruit’s neuroprotective effects?

04-Dec-2013 By Stephen DANIELLS

The potential brain health benefits of açai (Euterpe oleraceae Mart.) may be linked to an inhibition of the aggregation of beta-amyloid proteins, says a new study from Australia.

Poster deadline extended by one week to December 13

Probiota 2014: Poster proposal deadline extended

04-Dec-2013 By Nathan Gray

Probiota 2014 – the leading conference bridging the interface of academia and industry for cutting edge science about the prebiotics, probiotics and the microbiome – has extended the call for proposals for its poster sessions by one week to Friday 13th...