Diana Naturals launches 30 percent PAC cranberry extract
Phytonutriance CranPure brand with exceptionally high percentage of
proanthocyanidins (PACs), the flavonoids to which the berry's
health benefits have been attributed.
The private-equity-owned company announced the launch of the new extract at the SupplySide East trade show in New Jersey, USA, this week. The new extract has 30 per cent PACs. According to Diana Naturals, most extracts on the market tend to have between 1 and 5 per cent PACs. The development means that 36mg of PACs - the level required for cranberry products to bear a health claim in Diana's home country of France - can be delivered in 120mg of CranPure powder, that can be contained in just one capsule or tablet. For end consumers, this can reduce the number of supplements they swallow each day, thus making the end product more convenient. Diana Naturals company executives were not available immediately to comment technological advances that underlying the development of an extract with such a high PAC percentage. The company has also flagged up the high antioxidant capacity of the new CranPure, which has an ORAC value of 1500. In addition, it says the food grade product "has good water solubility, a nice pink colour, and is designed for use in capsule, tablet or powder applications". Health claims for cranberries? French food agency AFSSA currently allows products containing 36mg of PAC to claim that they can "help reduce the adhesion of certain E coli bacteria to urinary walls". Diana Naturals has not given an indication of whether it expects this health claim, approved in 2004, to be included in the positive list for the new European nutrition and health claims regulation currently being drawn up by the European Food Safety Authority. However there is a strong body of science behind cranberry's benefits for urinary health, and effective communication of this science has meant that consumers have become increasingly aware of the connection in recent years. According to a recent study, almost one third of parents in the US give cranberry to their children because of its reputation for fighting urinary tract infections. In 2004 France became the first country to approve a health claim for the North American cranberry species Vaccinium macrocarpon, which states that it can 'help reduce the adhesion of certain E.coli bacteria to the urinary tract walls'. Recent studies have also reported that the anti-bacterial benefits may be matched by anti-viral benefits, and may inhibit the growth and spread of human oesophageal adenocarcinoma (a cancer in glandular tissue) cells. Diana Naturals, a raw materials manufacturer with a turnover of $140m, is owned by AXA Private Equity. It has five manufacturing facilities in France, additional manufacturing in Chile, and sales offices in New York, Bangkok, Buenos Aires and Shanghai.
