Green Tea Extracts Making Entry Into Supplements Market
European companies are increasing their presence in the green tea extract market, looking to reach supplement makers with highly concentrated products.
Green tea, traditionally consumed in Asia, has been the focus of much research in recent years, associating its powerful antioxidant compounds with anti-cancer activity, anti-bacterial effects and heart health.
But until recently, green tea extracts imported from China and India have generally been used in beverages.
Now companies such as DSM and Greentech, both participating in a congress on the extract at next weekend ’ s Tea Expo, say they have products that are suitable for supplements designed with specific health benefits in mind.
DSM, which launched its highly purified EGCG product Teavigo last year, has recently gained approval from the Italian ministry of health for its safe use in supplements, food and cosmetics. The first supplement containing the ingredient is expected to launch early next year.
French plant extract firm Greentech is also hoping to push its product, a combination of extracts from green tea as well as white and red teas, towards the supplement market, after its successful use by leading cosmetics brands such as Clarins and L ’ Oreal.
However there remains significant variation between these and other green tea extracts available to food and supplement makers. The two European firms, entering a market flooded with products thanks to large raw material supply and numerous Asian suppliers, have both sought to maximize the antioxidant potential of their extracts.
But while DSM claims that focusing on the major polyphenol in green tea - epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) – allows the company to clearly define the efficacy and safety of the ingredient, Greentech and others aim to recreate an extract that more closely resembles the one found in nature.
DSM scientific expert Max Blum says the development of Teavigo is based on the evidence supporting EGCG (the extract has an EGCG content of more than 90 per cent).
“ When you look at green tea and its benefits, this is the antioxidant that comes out strongest. It is also the major ingredient, accounting for about 60 per cent of all green tea catechins, ” he told NutraIngredients.com.
“ There are some data on other catechins that have shown health benefits. But it is logical to take the one with the most antioxidant potential. And if you have a single, pure compound, you can do defined work with it. With multiple components you cannot explain the physiological effects, ” he added.
French company Greentech works on a different basis. “ To retain one single polyphenol is to lose all the properties of the others found in the tea. We wanted to preserve this and have combined different polyphenols from green, white and red tea, ” said Dominique Crestia of the firm ’ s analysis department.
“ Both in vivo and in vitro studies have shown the Tealine product to have action on tissues, cells and on a molecular level, ” she said.
The company says it included white tea extract for its high protection of DNA, allowing it to be included in anti-ageing formulas. Red tea, or rooibos, has the highest flavonoid level of all the teas, while green tea contains one of the most potent antioxidants.
Both companies will present their products at a workshop organized by the Societe Francaise des Antioxydants on the final day of the Tea Expo in Paris. It is designed to help food formulators choose between the variety of products available and learn about safety and recommended dosage levels.
Blum will also discuss some of the application areas for Teavigo.
“ There are some good studies that have suggested the thermogenesis effect of green tea, offering perspectives for slimming products. Some also show positive effects on glucose levels and triglycerides, although in many studies there was likely some synergistic effect from caffeine, ” he noted.
DSM currently has a human trial on green tea underway, with results out next year. It is also investigating benefits to oral health, with evidence to show that green tea compounds have anti-bacterial activity.
One firm already marketing concentrated green tea extracts for their antioxidant properties is the European division of Japan-based Taiyo Kagaku. Its Sunphenon range of six different green tea extracts is being used by chewing gum manufacturers and in bakery products.
But Josef Skrna, European sales and marketing director, says further work is required to develop consumer awareness of green tea benefits.
“ This is a new market that we have to develop. Not enough is known about green tea yet, perhaps because EGCG is a difficult name. It sounds quite chemical, ” he commented.
A high EGCG content also increases the price. Green tea extracts offered by Taiyo, which go up to 40 per cent EGCG concentration, range from € 20- € 90 per kg.
But while the green tea beverage itself remains a very niche product in most European markets, extract producers see strong potential for supplements.
“ Demand in 2003 from Europe was about 500 metric tons, mostly coming from beverages and cosmetics. But supplements will become important. For instance there is evidence that green tea may lower cholesterol and could compete with phytosterols, ” said Skrna.
FDA Unveils New Rules For Supplement Labels
High-profile cases put pressure on agency to use its authority
WASHINGTON - The Food and Drug Administration said yesterday it is setting up a new system for identifying potentially dangerous and mislabelled dietary supplements, and it promised to aggressively go after companies that sell misleadingly labelled products.
Responding to criticism that the government has reacted too slowly to the dangers posed by popular supplements such as ephedra and androstenedione — both taken off the market in the past year because of health concerns — the FDA outlined a new regulatory scheme for overseeing the fast-growing supplement industry.
In addition to upgrading its process for collecting "signals" of possible harmful effects in people using supplements, the FDA also set its first standard for determining whether the claims on labels are properly substantiated. From now on, supplement makers will have to show "competent and reliable scientific evidence" to back up their claims, it said.
An estimated 1,000 dietary supplement companies sell 29,000 products, but since passage of the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, the industry has been largely free of government oversight.
High-profile deaths associated with the diet and bodybuilding supplements ephedra and "andro" put pressure on the FDA to use its limited regulatory authority, and yesterday's announcement was an effort to expand its mandate.
"These initiatives refine the direction the agency is taking to regulate dietary supplements," acting Commissioner Lester M. Crawford said.
"We now have a clear road map to share with the dietary supplement industry, while at the same time giving consumers a higher level of assurance about the safety of dietary supplement products and the reliability of their labelling," he said in a statement.
The FDA said it sent letters to major dietary supplement retailers warning them against selling mislabelled products and threatened enforcement action if they do. Two weeks ago, the agency sent out eight letters to distributors making what it considers to be unsubstantiated weight-loss claims for supplements sold over the Internet, officials said.
Under the 1994 act, most dietary supplements do not need FDA review or approval before going on the market, but some new ingredients require a pre-market report on potential safety problems. As another part of its new initiative, the FDA will hold a public meeting on Nov. 15 to discuss what evidence should be required for these ingredient notifications.
The proposals were criticized by Janell Mayo Duncan, legislative counsel for Consumers Union, which has followed the issue since the mid-1990s. This summer, she said, her group identified 12 dangerous supplements that should be taken off the market immediately, but the FDA proposals do little to make that happen.
"What we need now is action, not more discussion of methods and procedures," she said. "The problems have been known for years, and the rulemaking process has been going on for years."
Duncan said the FDA effort to increase surveillance for harmful side effects is worthwhile, but the proposal would still leave adverse event reporting up to the companies rather than making it mandatory, as it is with prescription drugs.
The FDA announcement was generally welcomed by Annette Dickinson, president of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a Washington group that represents many supplement makers.
"We think it's time for the FDA to systematically implement" the 1994 law, she said. "We think this will demonstrate that [the law] works when implemented properly."
She said companies that her group represents have experienced greater oversight from the FDA in the past year, and the agency has rejected new-ingredient notifications filed by many of them. She said she hoped the new FDA advisory would make the process of new-ingredient notification more predictable for companies.
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