Plant-cell company Ayana Bio launches first health and wellness ingredients

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Ayana Bio (Boston), a company developing health and wellness ingredients using plant-cell technology, is bringing its first ingredients to the U.S. market. The company is launching non-GMO lemon balm and non-GMO echinacea, which are both produced directly from plant cells. Plant-cell technology sidesteps the constraints of traditional agriculture, including inconsistent quality and seasonal weather variation, and provides full traceability while eliminating the presence of adulteration, pesticides, and contamination, the firm says.

“These products have the bioactive composition of conventionally grown botanicals and can directly replace lemon balm and echinacea in dietary supplement formulations for sleep, mood, and immune support,” the firm says in a press release. It adds that the ingredients offer “the standardized hallmark bioactive compositions” and that plant cell technology enables ingredients to be “tailored to even higher concentrations of bioactives.” The firm DNA fingerprints its ingredients as well.

In a press release, Frank Jaksch, CEO of Ayana Bio, said, “The dietary supplement industry is in desperate need of bioactives that are traceable and more sustainable. Bringing plant cell–derived health and wellness ingredients to these markets will help CPGs access the full spectrum of bioactives characteristic of these plants without the supply chain challenges.”