Valensa Brings Power of Zanthin®
Into “Flavorless” Powder the Body Can Absorb
Teaming up with Virun Nutra-Biosciences, Valensa transforms its multi-beneficial astaxanthin into water-soluble powder for multi-applications
ORLANDO, Fla. (June 17, 2019) — Following a successful debut at VitaFoods 2019 last month, Florida-based Valensa International announces the commercial availability of Zanthin® Natural Astaxanthin in a powdered, water-soluble and flavorless form, creating opportunities to incorporate the powerful antioxidant into multiple natural food and beverage applications.
“This is a breakthrough for the industry. We’re bringing a water-dispersible and functional, enriched astaxanthin in a powder format that does not have the typical flavor profile, while achieving important commercial shelf life targets of up to 24 months,” said Umasudan C.P., Valensa CEO, who has 20 years in the natural products industry and mentioned he has seen a lack of innovation in new delivery formats for natural-sourced ingredients from botanicals to microalgae. “This is a game-changing innovation in providing convenient dosage forms that expand opportunities for this powerful antioxidant, that research continues to confirm plays an important role in healthy aging, especially for joint and eye health.”
In addition, Uma said the new Zanthin® powder preserves its nutritional profile while increasing overall bioavailability, so the body absorbs a high percentage of astaxanthin.
“Through the microencapsulation process, we’re able to make a water insoluble, non-polar carotenoid be absorbed easily so astaxanthin’s power can have affect throughout the body,” Uma said. “The result is a water-soluble, natural astaxanthin powder that is highly bioavailable, dissolves clear into beverages, and carries no objectionable odor or flavor.”
About Zanthin® Natural Astaxanthin-Powder
Zanthin® Natural Astaxanthin is a key active component in many of Valensa’s formulations that mediate joint discomfort, help maintain good eye health, maintain healthy lipid profiles for cardiovascular health, and can cross the blood-brain barrier to support healthy aging.
Astaxanthin has been studied extensively and has demonstrated benefits which derive from strong antioxidant activity enhanced by its ability to span the cell’s lipid bilayer and neutralize excess reactive oxygen species (ROS), thus reducing the amount of inflammation caused by ROS.
To obtain the powdered form of Zanthin® Natural Astaxanthin, Valensa extracts astaxanthin using its patented Deep Extract™ Supercritical CO2 technology, and protects the concentrated lipid, an oleoresin, with the O2B™ stabilization process. Then, powered by Esolv®, the proprietary technology for oil microencapsulation from Virun Nutra-Biosciences®, the Zanthin® oleoresin is transformed into powder, with 10-22 nm-sized micelles which can be easily dispersed in food and beverages and ideally-sized for bioavailability.
According to Philip Bromley, Virun CEO, “We take Valensa’s Zanthin® Natural Astaxanthin and deodorize it through a natural bicarbonate process, and then encapsulate the oil into micelles that are spray-dried. By creating the micelle structure, we put the oil into a form that is water soluble, highly bioavailable, and can even dissolve clear into beverages, all-the-while maintaining no fishy taste. So far we have developed about successful, finished product prototypes with powdered Zanthin® such as stick packs, pouches, bars, multi-serving smoothies, shots, beverages and more.”
According to Stephen Hill, Valensa Vice President of Product Development and Regulatory, timing couldn’t be more perfect to introduce this innovation.
“We had just completed the pilot trials and were testing the waters for this concept with our customers,” said Hill, who has led many new products to the market during his 18 years at Valensa International. “Within days, we had to accelerate scale-up to deliver to the market demand. Valensa’s customers are excited to have this new format of Zanthin® available.”
About Virun Nutra-Biosciences
Founded in 2003, Virun Nutra-Biosciences was formed to create nutritious, great tasting and novel formulations for the food, beverage, and dietary supplement and pharmaceutical industries. Located in Pomona, CA, Virun fully integrates research and development, production and manufacturing to quickly conceptualize ideas into innovative custom bulk blends and finished products for contract manufacturing. Learn more at www.virun.com.
About Valensa International
Headquartered near Orlando, Florida, Valensa International is a leading nutraceutical provider of science-based, intellectual property-protected ingredients proven to benefit human health and wellness. With more than 60 U.S. and International Patents for Formulations and Manufacturing, Valensa continues to innovate in the following four areas; men’s prostate health, joint health, immunity and healthy aging. Founded in 1999, Valensa International is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EID Parry, and produces the following flagship products, marketed under the brands: Parry Organic Spirulina, Organic USPlus® Saw Palmetto Extract, Zanthin® Natural Astaxanthin and FlexPro MD® Joint Health Formulation. Learn more at valensa.com.