Page 18 - Ameft Journal 2021-III

FOCUS BEVERAGES Natural lemon extract for flavanones’ health benefits During Vitafoods Europe which will th th be organized from 5 to 7 Octo- ber 2021 at Geneva the world’s lead- ing ‘nutraceutical’ event that brings together medicinally or nutritionally functional foods from across the world, will see a new lemon-based botani- cal ingredient in the line of Mediter- ranean fruit and vegetable extractsTM which will be launched by Euromed S.A. along with WellemonTM. Euromed S.A. is a leading producer of standardized herbal extracts and ac- tive pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) of botanical origin for the international pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, food and cosmetic industry. Lemons are a rich source of erioci- trin – a secondary plant substance with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties commonly found in the Mediterranean-style diet. A recent- ly published acute clinical study of the CEBAS-CSIC – a research centre within the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) – compared the erioc- itrin-rich WellemonTM extract with an hesperidin-rich orange extract. The results showed that Euromed’s lem- on extract yielded more bioavailable 18 AMEFT 3 2021 metabolites than hesperidin and may therefore provide more effective health benefits. The researchers compared the bio- availability and metabolism of flava- nones from lemon as well as orange extracts (main endpoint), and analyzed changes in metabolic markers after a high-fat-high-sugar meal. The overall excretion of metabolites was substan- tially higher after consuming lemon extract, as indicated by blood and urine samples of the participants. In particular, the pharmacokinetic study showed for the first time in humans, that intake of eriocitrin from lemon extract yields both lemon and orange metabolites, thanks to hesperetin- eriodictyol interconversion, exclusive to the eriocitrin metabolite. By doing so, WellemonTM can provide a higher total concentration of bioactive me- tabolites, not achievable with the in- take of hesperidin alone. Hesperidin has a low bioavailability due to poor water-solubility. Moreover, there is high inter-individual variability in the production of derived bioactive intes- tinal metabolites. WellemonTM intake may be sufficient to exert health ben- efits even in so-called low-producer individuals, reducing inter-individual variability and overcoming poor hes- peridin bioavailability. It is also worth noting, that the systolic blood pressure remained stable in subjects consuming WellemonTM, but increased slightly in those supplementing orange extract. Besides cardiovascular and metabolic health, possible applications include vascular health, immunity, healthy ageing and nutria-cosmetics. Andrea Zangara, Head of Scientific Communications & Marketing, says: “The Mediterranean diet, with a high in- take of fruits and vegetables, stands out as particularly heart-friendly and health- promoting. Citrus fruits play an impor- tant role in that eating pattern, especial- ly in the winter months due to their rich source of flavanones such as eriocitrin. Our eriocitrin-standardized compound is obtained from sustainably sourced Span- ish whole lemons, processed with our proprietary, water-only extraction tech- nology, the Pure-Hydro ProcessTM. We’re looking forward to the official launch of WellemonTM at Vitafoods, when we will be making it available for new and exist- ing customers.” (Source: Euromed) www.ameft.com