Winter 2000 Issue — Fill the Gap with Functional Extracts from Fruit and Vegetables

Dr. Susan Lawlor

Chr. Hansen Ireland Limited

Marianne Winning, MSc Pharmacy

Chr. Hansen NS, Denmark

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The number of food items enriched with nutraceutical ingredients has escalated over the last few years. Whereas the nutraceutical ingredients in the past were applied mainly in tablets and capsules for dietary supplements or herbal medicine, the demand today is that functional ingredients must be applied in various food products including beverages, bars, cereals, dairy products etc. The wish from all parts of the food industry to participate in the huge potential in the functional food market puts new demands on the quality of the functional ingredients. New nutraceutical ingredients are appearing almost every day and the documentation of positive effects of existing ingredients are becoming more and more convincing. Evidence for the effect of antioxidants in preventing diseases and degenerative (age­related) processes is becoming more significant. Antioxidants include classical nutrients as vitamin C and E and selenium but also natural antioxidants extracted from plants and animals have gained wide acceptance.

Current attention has focused on carotenoids which are a class of natural pigments that are widespread in fruit and vegetables. It is hypothesized that the protective effect of the fruit and vegetable in disease prevention is linked to the antioxidant effect of carotenoids. Therefore they are obvious candidates as ingredients in functional food with a nutritional aim. Flavonoids, another group of constituents from fruits and vegetables, are also of interest as functional ingredients.

Dietary Intake

Ideally the recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables and therefore active components is 6 servings per day. However only a small percentage of western populations are consuming these quantities, therefore a real opportunity exists to improve diet and health. This puts an onus on food ingredient producers to provide readily available extracts of potentially beneficial components from fruit and vegetables. Applied in food and beverages in a bloavailable form these products could "fill the gap" between the average dietary intake of fruit and vegetables and the intake recommended by health authorities. Chr. Hansen offers a range of natural extracts — mixed carotenoids, natural carotene, lute grapeskin extracts, turmeric and paprika — used in food systems.

Functional ingredients

Natural carotene:

Carotenes are amongst the most important carotenoids and they produce colour shades from yellow to red in food. Vegex Natural Carotene is extracted from the fruit of the oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis) which is the richest natural source of mixed carotenoids (500-700 ppm). Vegex Natural Carotene from palm oil is also one of the closest in identity to carrot-derived carotene. The carotenoid composition of this product is typically 65% beta-carotene and 35% alpha-carotene but it also includes gamma-carotene and lycopene which are other potentially beneficial carotenoids found in nature. As in nature, this product contains a mixture of cis and trans isomers. Cis isomers tend to be more easily solibilized and therefore more bioavailable than the trans isomeric form. Epidemiological studies and scientific research have demonstrated that carotenes such as alpha-carotene and beta-carotene protect healthy cells from free radical damage and act as cancer inhibiting agents. Re­analysis of early epidemiological studies on fruit and vegetables shows that alpha-carotene may be more protective against cancers than beta-carotene. In some studies the mixture of palm fruit carotenoids show an even greater cancer inhibitory potency than just alpha-carotene and beta-carotene alone. For application in food systems Vegex Natural Carotene is available in the form of liquid (oil and water dispersible) and water dispersible powder. The oil soluble form is prepared by purification of palm oil by industrial high pressure liquid chromatography. The water dispersible liquid and powder are produced by sophisticated emulsion technologies. Natural Carotene may be applied in a wide variety of food systems in addition to nutritional formulations and dietary supplements. Vegex Natural Carotene also acts as a pro-vitamin A source in applications.

Lutein:

Xanthophylls are oxygenated derivatives of carotenes — examples include lutein and zeaxanthin — which are the predominant carotenoids in green leafy vegetables and in marigold flowers. Commercial forms of lutein are the solvent extracts of marigold flowers (Tagetes erecta) which have been concentrated and deodorized. In contrast to carotenes, xanthopbvlls have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts and in cellular membranes they are located at the lipid-water interface. Possibly this may indicate different roles for xanthophylls and carotenes in preventing disease mechanisms.

Evidence is accumulating that oxidised LDL is crucial to the development of atherosclerosis. Antioxidants are thought to be important in preventing atherosclerotic plaques but the factors determining oxidation of the lipoprotein are not fully understood. Plasma levels of lutein and zeaxanthin appear to correlate better with the LDL than is the case for the other carotenoids. Lutein is also associated with prevention of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) which is the major cause of irreversible blindness in the elderly. Studies have shown strong association between the intake of specific green leafy vegetables e.g. spinach and kale with a decrease risk of AMD. A protective role for lutein and zeaxanthin is suggested since they are found in high concentrations in these vegetables.

Vegex Lutein is one of the most stable of the oxycarotenoids displaying good light stability. Lutein is an oil soluble colour which can he rendered water miscible with the use of food grade emulsifiers. Vegex Lutein is available in oil or water soluble form and as for Natural Carorene may be applied both in nutritional formulations and functional food systems.

Grapeskin extracts:

Flavonoids are naturally occurring water soluble polyphenolic antioxidants found not only in red wine but also widely distributed in fruits, vegetables and teas. The flavonoids include the anthocyanins which are one of the most widely occurring pigments found in nature and are responsible for the pink-violet colours in flowers, fruits, vegetables and other plants. In association with the phenomenon known as the French Paradox evidence is accumulating that moderate alcohol consumption (30-50 g/day) may protect against coronary heart disease (CHD). The beneficial effect of red wines is significantly superior to that of other alcoholic beverages e.g. beer. Therefore it has been suggested that the flavonoids from wine may contribute to protection against CHD. Flavonoids are thought to exert these beneficial effects by a variety of mechanisms, including:

• reduction of of LDL oxidation
• scavenging of oxidants
• sequestering metal ions, and
• reducing thrombotic tendencies

It is thought that the oxidative protection of LDL by flavonoids together with the reduction of thrombotic tendencies resulting in lower aggregation of platelets offers a plausible explanation of the protection against heart disease by a regular consumption of red wine Vegex Grape Skin Extracts and Grape Pomace Polyphenols are available in liquid concentrates or powder forms as standard. These products will be applied in a wide variety of applications.

The Natural Concept

In general, the epidemiological evidence for the beneficial effect of fruit and vegetables in human health points in the direction of a range of antioxidants such as carotenoids and flavonoids rather than a single component. The substantial differences in structure and the biological properties of these components are likely to influence their ability to prevent specific diseases and they may possibly act in a synergistic manner for optimal beneficial effects on human health. The Chr. Hansen philosophy is to provide potent mixtures of these components that reflect nature's variety and may be applied in foods, dietary supplements or nutritional preparations. Recent developments include Vegex Mixed Carotenoids. These are mixtures containing the carotenoids. alpha-carotene, beta­carotene, lutein, lycopene and zeaxanthin with or without natural tocopherols. These mixtures maybe formulated to provide the optimal combination of antioxidants based on the latest scientific data as well as being in highly bloavailable form. Vegex Mixed Carotenoids are available both in water based and in oil based formulations. They may be applied in foods, dietary supplements or nutritional preparations.

Applications

Nutritional ingredients can be applied both in dietary supplements and in food. One of the most important growth areas within functional food is beverage including both dietetic products and mass market products For this application the nutritional benefits carotenoids and flavonoids will be accompanied by the colouring effects of the pigments. Other important applications are confectionery like bars and snacks, dairy, cereals, sauces and soups. The increased health value of the enriched food products combined with the natural image of the concept will make it easy to differentiate position new products successfully on the market.

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