Demographics will continue to drive cardiovascular category growth: ENI President

20-Nov-2012 - Last updated on 28-Sep-2021 at 09:58 GMT

The cardiovascular health segment is here to stay, with the surge in product demand by baby boomers ensuring that growth will continue, says Cal Bewicke, president of Ethical Naturals Inc.

Speaking with NutraIngredients-USA at the recent SupplySide West show, Bewicke said: “I think the cardiovascular category will continue to grow simply because of the demographics.

“The demongraphics of this country right now – we have a lot of baby boomers in their 60s and 70s and that is really when people think they need cardiovascular support.

“I think you can see from the huge surge in demand in omega-3 fish oil products and other ingredients that have cardiovascular benefits that the category is really here to stay.”

VinCare

The company is marketing a whole grape extract called VinCare that has been involved in a clinical trial by KGK Synergise (Canada). The US Patent and Trademark Office granted a patent in 2011 to ENI for the ingredient (U.S. Patent 7,959,963), and the ingredient is patent-pending in China and the European Union, said ENI.

It is marketed under the brand names ORAC-15M and VinCare and it is standardized to contain 80% grape polyphenols with an ORAC Value of 15,000 micromolesTE/gram.

“In the KGK clinical trial, we also wanted to check its effect on antioxidant markers in the body,” said Bewicke. “The product is standardized for ORAC value, and we were particularly interested to see how the product actually affected and was active in the body. We examined that in the clinical trial and the trial found substantial benefits in that area.”

ORAC

Commenting on the ORAC issue, Bewicke said: “Since the USDA withdrew their ORAC system from their website, there have been some questions on the validity on the ORAC system in general. One has to go back to the fact that ORAC values are just one way of testing or evaluating the antioxidant level of a compound. That is one reason why we also test for the polyphenol levels, which are actual antioxidant compounds.

“The problem was that many companies were over-using ORAC claims and translating them into strong direct claims for benefits in the body and this was becoming confusing and misleading for the consumer.

“We use ORAC values as one system of measurement for this ingredient, and we also measure and guarantee the polyphenol levels.