Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche has said it is "reviewing
strategic options outside the group for the vitamins and fine
chemicals division" after a difficult year in 2001.
An American researcher who claimed last year that carrageenin from
the Philippines can cause cancer has admitted her research was at
best inconclusive, according to the Seaweed Industry Association of
the Philippines (SIAP).
US food group Quaker Oats and Swiss healthcare giant Novartis have
confirmed that their functional foods joint venture has been
scrapped after just two years of operations.
Natural Health Trends Corporation (NHTC) has begun distribution in
Hong Kong of its Viacreme product, a topical cream designed to
increase sexual pleasure.
Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble is to sell the plant
that makes its controversial fat substitute olestra, after the
product failed to live up to company expectations.
British school children with learning difficulties are taking part
in a major trial to see if plant and fish extracts can help raise
their learning and concentration levels.
The UK's leading organic promoter, the Soil Association, has
published an open letter on its website to Anna Ross, the author of
a report on the UK's organic food market which it was claimed to
have suppressed because the...
An American study has found that the daily intake of vitamin C has
an important role in preventing cataracts. Cataracts are present in
45 per cent of people older than 75 years, and their removal is the
most commonly performed surgical...
A study to investigate the effect of a chinese herb formula on
liver cancer is to be carried out at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center, in New York.The Japanese compund, called
Sho-Saiko-to, is made up of seven Chinese herbs...
Scottish ice cream-maker Mackie's is launching the world's first
ever mood-enhancing ice cream, according to a report in Scotland on
Sunday. The company, based in Aberdeenshire, Scotland has added the
essence of an orchid...
LifeSmart Nutrition Technologies, formerly known as Upland Energy,
has announced that it has acquired LifeSmart Nutrition, the
Utah-based company, as a wholly owned subsidiary.
BotanicLab has released an official statement on the current status
of the product, PC SPES, the prostate health product that was
voluntarily recalled in early February, which has now been recalled
in two other countries.
A recent study confirms the evidence that moderate alcohol is
beneficial. American scientists have found that the risk of heart
disease in older women may in fact be reduced by alcohol.
Doctors in Britain are warning that diabetes could spread in the
current generation of fat, couch-potato teenagers, putting more
pressure on Britain's ailing health-care system.
Researchers at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark have found
that a moderate intake of alcohol can raise the risk of stillbirths
but may not be a factor in later infant mortality.
Vitamin C, vitamin E or multivitamin supplements are ineffective at
fighting stomach cancer, according to a new study by the American
Cancer Society (ACS).
Thailand is seeking to take on a greater role in the global organic
market with the launch of a five-year masterplan encouraging
farmers to cut pesticide usage.
Many of the British farmers affected by foot and mouth disease
(FMD) are looking at moving into organic farming as they start to
rebuild their stocks, according to a survey commissioned by the
UK's Department of Environment,...
Obese rats with severe hypercholesterolemia - high blood
cholesterol - reacted positively to dietary supplementation with
plant sterols and minerals, according to research from Finland.
British scientists who have cracked the genetic code of fission
yeast, say that the developments could lead to new treatments for
cancer and other diseases.
Raloxifene, an oestrogen supplement used to treat osteoporosis, can
significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems among
post-menopausal women at high risk for acute coronary events and
among those with established coronary...
Environmental biotechnology has been used by humans for centuries
in food making, medicine, fermentation and waste treatment.
According to a new study, today the market for microbial blends and
nutrients is gaining in strength.
Flavour intensifiers are being tested as a way to promote weight
loss and an alternative to diet, according to Dr Alan Hirsch, head
of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in the
US.
Glucona America, the sole US producer of glucono-delta-lactone
(GDL), has been granted all natural status for its Gluconal GDL
product by the US Food & Drug Administration.
More research confirms the benefits of moderate drinking. A daily
moderate intake of alcohol may prevent blockages in the arteries
that supply blood to the legs, according to a new study.
A new educational programme focusing on the information supplied
via food labels and designed to help diabetes sufferers improve
their diets has been created by researchers at Penn State and the
University of North Carolina at Greensboro...
Fat men tend to live longer than their slimmer counterparts,
according to a survey done by a research group at the Epidemiology
and Biostatistic Division at the National Cancer Centre in Tokyo.
An experimental compound called C75 can help suppress the appetite
and promote weight loss, according to new research. But the results
of tests on mice show that the compound is only effective in obese
subjects and has only a short...
The US Senate last week passed the Farm Bill, including an
amendment allowing food stamps to be used for the purchase of
vitamin and mineral supplements.
A new test is being developed to allow oat and barley breeders to
detect high levels of beta-glucans, cell wall plant components
which have been shown to have reduce the risk of heart disease in
humans.
Increasing consumer concerns about health have triggered growing
demand for cosmeceutical products. The market in the US is growing
by around 10 to 15 per cent each year, and competition between
companies to produce more effective...
Warm Cream, a topical transdermal cream which works naturally to
warm cold hands and feet by allowing warm blood to more readily
reach the targeted area, will soon be available throughout the US
for the first time.
Indian nutraceutical firm British Biologicals is to launch a range
of products in the protein segment, strengthening its already
impressive 70 per cent share of the nutritional supplement market.
A high fibre diet can help make you happier and give you more
energy, as well as boosting your mental health, according to a new
study from the University of Cardiff in Wales.
Eucalyptus and tea-tree oils are surprisingly effective at treating
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections,
according to new research from Australia.
With the use of antibiotics in healthy chickens being called into
question in the US, organic and natural food retailer Wild Oats
markets has strengthened its policy on selling only meat which is
antibiotic-free.
Galaxy Nutritional Foods has reported net profits of $149,994
(€172,018) for the third quarter of 2001/2002, a welcome return to
the black after losses of $2,486,808 a year earlier.
Sales of vitamins and herbs in the US dropped during 2001, but
there was a more positive performance from minerals, non-herbals
and weight control products, according to sales tracker Information
Resources (IRI).
The National Heart Forum (NHF) in UK yesterday launched a new
programme called young@heart, offering a number of recommendations
promoting an active lifestyle and a diet low in fat and rich in
fruit and vegetables for the nation's...
Nutraceutical Clinical Laboratories International (NCLII), a
producer natural preservatives and anti-aging supplements, has
reported a sharp rise in sales for January to $512,000 (€587,027)
compared to $96,000 for the same period...
The continued downturn in supplement sales in the US has taken its
toll on Nutraceutical International Corporation (NIC), which saw
first quarter sales drop to $24.5 million (€28.1m) from $25.3 a
year earlier.
Nutrition 21 has acquired patents covering drugs consisting of
chromium and an anti-depressant. The nutritional ingredients
producer acquired the technology from its inventor, Malcolm McLeod,
clinical professor of psychiatry at the...
Natural Alternatives International (NAI), the nutritional
supplements manufacturer, saw its second quarter sales rise by 28
per cent to $12.7 million (€14.6m) compared to the first quarter of
the year when sales were $9.9 million.
