Distribution agreement signed for Banaba leaf extract
distribution and marketing agreement for GlucoTrim Banaba leaf
extract.
The agreement will allow OptiPure and its sister company Soft Gel (SGTI) to become the exclusive source for Banaba leaf extracts.
Three patents (#6,716,459, #6,485,760 and #6,784,206) have been issued for Banaba products, allowing the product to be used for weight loss or blood glucose management.
The extracts are typically used in soft gelatin capsules, tablets and two piece hard shell capsules.
GlucoTrim is a standardized extract of Banaba leaf (Lagerstroemia speciosa L.) and contains corosolic acid (available as 1 percent or 3 percent extracts) and various tannins, including Lagerstroemin.
According to the companies, the efficacity of GlucoTrim in supporting healthy blood glucose metabolism has been tested through numerous clinical investigations.
SGTI president, Ron Udell, said: "We are pleased to have entered into an exclusive partnership with Use Techno. This agreement enables us to benefit from our efforts in building the GlucoTrim brand over the last several years."
Soft Gel announced in January that it had developed a completely solubilized form of coenzyme Q10, shown to be more bioavailable than traditional CoQ10 softgels in a small trial.
Soft Gel's technology, which is patent-pending and therefore not yet disclosed, dissolves the crystals that are formed when CoQ10 is produced commercially and prevents the solution from recrystallizing.
"With traditional CoQ10 softgels, the heat used during manufacturing crystallizes the CoQ10, reducing the surface area and therefore the solubility," explained Kenn Israel, marketing director at the company.
"Our technology, which requires no synthetic surfactants, makes the product completely soluble at room temperature."
OptiPure is the largest importer and distributor of CoQ10 to the US, supplying Japanese-produced material to a marketplace that accounts for about a third of all global demand.
In the face of soaring prices, suppliers have looked at increasing bioavailability of the material to reduce costs for supplement manufacturers.
