New natural slimming ingredient set to enter US
enter the US dietary supplement and functional food market with its
fruit-based weight-loss ingredient Sinetrol.
The company first launched the citrus-derived fat burner in Europe in 2005; a year later Fytexia expanded into the Asian market. Although the company said the ingredient was met with "great success" in these markets, it believes the most potential lies in the US. "The US market is more open, dynamic and innovative. Innovation there comes from the ingredient. In Europe, tighter regulations mean that innovation is now mainly based on new packaging and marketing," said president of the company Constantin Dallas. Natural fat burner A major selling point for the ingredient is the fact that it is derived from natural ingredients, said Dallas. It is a patented synergistic extract made from red orange, orange, grapefruit and guarana extract with total fruit biophenols of 60-80 per cent, flavanones 10-20 per cent HPLC, and caffeine 1-4 per cent. Science Dallas told NutraIngredients-USA.com that Sinetrol has been tested for its lipolytic in human adipocytes in an ex vivo clinical trial, by measuring the release of free fatty acids. Human adipocytes from 35-year-old women were collected and treated on the same day with either Sinetrol, a placebo, or 12 percent guarana. Sinetrol was seen to increase lipolysis (release of free fatty acid) by 600 per cent more than the placebo, and 200 per cent more than the guarana alone. The effect is attributed to the ingredient inhibiting cathecol-methyl transferase and phosphodiestrerase. In addition, two groups of overweight volunteers took Sinetrol and placebo supplements (containing 1.4g Sinetrol/day) for 12 weeks. At the end of four and 12 weeks, the Sinetrol group lost 5.5 and 15.6 percent body fat respectively - equivalent to 2 and 5kg. The results of these trials are currently being peer-reviewed and are expected to be published in the Phytomedicine scientific magazine in coming months, said Dallas. Claims Four health claims are currently approved for use in connection with Sinetrol in the European market. These are:
Weight management
Decrease of body fat
Decrease in BMI
Better silhouette
The company said it is still in the process of evaluating the health claim regulations in the US market, but estimates that within six to nine months it will be ready to sell its ingredient to US supplement makers. Following the ingredient's launch in the dietary supplement market, Fytexia said it will pursue the functional foods and beverages arena. It is currently working together with a US consultant to prepare for GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) evaluation. Sinetrol range Fytexia's flagship ingredient is currently available in three versions. Sinetrol EXP is intended for use in dietary supplements. It contains 60 percent polyphenols and 10 percent flavonoids. Around four capsules each containing 350mg of the ingredient would be necessary for a manufacturer to achieve the weight-loss claim, which is based on 1.4g intake of active ingredient per day. Sinetrol WS is the same concentration as Sinetrol EXP, but is 100 percent water soluble and is designed for use in food and beverage applications. Sinetrol X-Pur is a highly purified product containing 90 percent polyphenols and 20 percent flavonoids, for use in dietary supplements that require a more concentrated ingredient. This version is currently not available for use in foods and beverages. Another major advantage of Sinetrol X-Pur, which is the latest addition to the product range, is that it free from synephrin and octopamin (<200ppm). These are active compounds derived from citrus that can help in fat burning but that have also been linked to certain side-effects, such as an increase in blood pressure. This makes the ingredient particularly suitable for manufacturers seeking to make 'synephrin-free' claims, said Dallas. Sinetrol X-Pur will be formally launched in Europe at the Vitafoods 2008 show.
