Heart Health

The active ingredient of red yeast rice (Monascus purpureus), monacolin, has been found in inconsistent amounts in 12 dietary supplements, according to a study conducted by ConsumerLab.com (White Plains, NY).

Neptune Technology and Bioressources Inc. (Neptune; Laval, QC), a supplier of krill oil for dietary supplements, has introduced Onemia, a medical food for the pharmaceutical market.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA; Parma, Italy) has issued positive opinions for the omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) for eye, brain, and heart health.

Dean Foods (Dallas) has announced the launch of two new soy products through its Alpro Plus lines, according to Australian Food News.

With new Novel Foods approval in Canada, phytosterols are ready to eat up market share.

Soybeans are being bred for higher levels of oleic acid by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and scientists from the University of Missouri and South Korea’s Kyungpook University.

Krill oil supplier Neptune Technologies & Bioressources Inc. (Laval, QC) has been awarded health claims from Health Canada (Ottawa, ON) for its NKO krill oil.

Magnesium is an essential mineral for the body that many Americans may not be getting enough of, according to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s (DGAC) recent report on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010.

Dairy products enriched with omega-3s may improve cardiovascular biomarkers, according to new research.

Considering that enzymes catalyze virtually every biological process in the human body, it can be a serious problem if a person’s enzyme balance is out of whack.

A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine last week found that "pine bark extract" does not influence human risk of heart disease. But which pine bark extract was it referring to?

Ethical Naturals (San Anselmo, CA) has attained self-affirmed GRAS status for ORAC-15M, a grape extract intended to provide antioxidants to supplements and beverages.

SourceOne Global Partners (Chicago) organized an open-label trial on 84 hypercholestermic men and women to see if a combination of polymethoxylated flavones and tocotrienols (Chollestrinol HP) could reduce CRP levels.

An inverse relationship between magnesium intake and diabetes incidence has been observed in a 20-year study published in late August in the journal Diabetes Care.

New research, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, presented the results of three human studies performed to explore the physiological benefits of Palatinose.

A study published last Sunday in the New England Journal of Medicine is receiving ample response from omega-3 industry organizations. Using a population cohort of nearly 5,000 people who supplemented with omega-3-enriched margerines for 40 months, researchers behind the study concluded that 'Low doses of omega-3 fatty acids did not significantly reduce the rates of cardiovascular end points.' This was determined to be the case with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).

Whey protein may have an influence on lowering blood pressure, according to research published in the upcoming November issue of International Dairy Journal.In a six-week controlled intervention, researchers at Washington State University tested the effects of daily consumption of 28 g of hydrolyzed or non-hydrolyzed whey protein beverages on young men and women.

The European Food Safety Authority...s (Parma, Italy) Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition, and Allergies (NDA Panel) has determined that Artinia, a chitin-glucan ingredient by Stratum Nutrition (St. Charles, MO), shall be considered safe for consumption under established terms in the European Union. In the NDA Panel opinion, the ingredient is referred to as KiOnutrime-CG, the brand name used by Stratum...s European partner KitoZyme (Herstal, Belgium).

'Low doses of omega-3 fatty acids did not significantly reduce the rates of cardiovascular end points,' wrote the author of a large-scale study on omega-3s published in the New England Journal of Medicine .

Stratum Nutrition (St. Louis, MO) has announced that the company, in collaboration with its European partner KitoZyme (Herstal, Belgium), will soon begin a six-week human clinical study on Artinia, a chitin-glucan fiber marketed for heart health.

Beta-D-glucans may act as antioxidants in the blood, according to a study published in the journal Platelets.

B&D Nutritional Ingredients Inc. (Vista, CA) is now distributing Solazyme Health Sciences... Golden Chlorella line of sustainably grown microalgae powders. The line includes Golden Chlorella Omega and Golden Chlorella High Protein powders for dietary supplements and functional foods. The company says that both provide solutions for heart-healthy, vegetarian, protein-rich functional foods.

Citing numerous scientific errors and misinformation, the American Botanical Council (ABC; Austin, TX) and the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN; Washington, DC) have responded to an article on herbal products and patients with heart disease published in the current issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

By Andrew Goldman, Nutricap Labs  

A new dossier has been released for the product Lactium, according to its exclusive international distributor Pharmachem Laboratories (Pharmachem; Kearny, NJ).

Health Canada has approved phytosterols (or plant sterols) and sterol esters for Novel Food use, according to Cognis Nutrition & Health (Cincinnati). Phytosterols, found naturally in plants, can compete with, and therefore lower, dietary cholesterol in the body.

A large-scale study on how homocysteine levels are influenced by folic acid and vitamin B12 may have hit the wrong target, according to some industry members.

Black teens may require much more vitamin D for healthy intake than previously thought, according to a study published online last week at the Journal of Endocrinology & Metabolism.