PLT says healthy population data boosts new respiratory health combo

13-Jul-2022 - Last updated on 13-Jul-2022 at 14:25 GMT

The dense urban smog of India functioned as a stressor in PLT's latest research on a new respiratory health ingredient. ©Getty Images - urbancow

PLT says new data on its AlvioLife respiratory health ingredient is significant because it shows significant effects in a healthy population.

AlvioLife is a patented combination of extracts of Boswellia serrata resin and Bengal quince fruit (Aegle marmelos).

Boswellia serrata, also known as frankincense, is an herbal ingredient almost as old as the trade in herbal goods itself. The ingredient is sourced from a gum resin exuded from a small tree species native to dry areas of Indi, the Middle East and North Africa. The bark of the trees are scored to promote more sap excretion. History of trade in this aromatic ingredient extends back to 1,500 BCE and beyond.

Bengal quince, also known as bael or Golden Apple, is another tree species whose fruit has been used in traditional medicine systems, though not with quite the same wealth of history as Boswellia.

Synergistic combination

PLT advertises that Alviolife’s Boswellia serrata fraction is an extract standardized to 30% 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-ß-boswellic acid. The company claims that the two ingredients together have a stronger 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) inhibition activity than either of its constituent extracts alone. The 5-lipoxygenase enzyme has been shown in the literature to have significant influence on the onset and progression of airway inflammation.

“The same inflammatory pathways are at play for both substances,” Jeremy Appleton, ND, told NutraIngredients-USA. Appleton is the director of scientific and medical affairs for PLT Health Solutions. “It’s a matter of the reduction of pro inflammatory cytokines.”

Sensitivity to air pollution used as respiratory stressor

To arrive at a healthy population Appleton said the new research recruited a study population in India that reported a sensitivity to air pollution. The study was conducted in Varanasi, one of the most heavily polluted cities in a country where most of the big cities struggle with dense smog brought on by open burning and hordes of vehicles without exhaust pollution controls.

The ingredient is manufactured in India by PLT’s innovation partner Laila Nutraceuticals. The partnership extends back almost two decades.

PLT claims the study, which reportedly is in the final stages of publication, showed reductions in reported upper respiratory tract symptoms (Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Scale) and improved psychological well-being. Positive changes in immune (CD4+) and inflammatory (IL-8) biomarkers were also shown.

Steve Fink, PLT’s vice president of marketing, said the power of these most recent results, combined with an earlier study done on the combination that is also awaiting publication, means the ingredient is robust enough to stand on its own.

“We have seen respiratory health launches growing at a bout a 30% rate since 2017. With AlvioLife we see an ingredient that can carry the weight of a product line on its own,” he said.