Lipid Nutrition prepares for launch of PinnoThin powder

PinnoThin, which is derived from pine nuts, was first launched in 2005 as an oil.

It has so far been used in dietary supplements and a limited range of food products in the global market.

The company now says the development of a stable powder form will allow manufacturers to more easily incorporate the ingredient into different food applications, not only because a powder form may be better suited for certain products, but also because some companies do not have the facilities to handle wet ingredients.

"The main obstacle so far has been that some companies don't have the facilities to work with an oil in their production process.

So providing the ingredient in powder form will open up new opportunities in the market," said John Kurstjens, global marketing manager for Lipid Nutrition.

Source & benefits Lipid Nutrition extracts the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid pinolenic acid from the seeds of the Korean pine nut tree ( Pinus koraiensis ), one of more than 140 varieties of the nut, which also grows in China.

The oil contains pinolenic acid, linolenic acid, and oleic acid.

The pine nut oil in the ingredient works by increasing two hormones in the gut which sends signals to the brain, telling it you are full and do not want to eat anything else.

Science Existing research on Korean pine nut oil has shown that it can increase the release of the satiety gut hormones cholecystokinin (CCK).

Until recently, though, there had been no information on whether PinnoThin can actually reduce food consumption.

However, a study funded by Lipid Nutrition and published in February in the BioMed Central journal Lipids in Health and Disease found that PinnoThin at 2g of free fatty acid (FFA) taken 30 minutes before a meal reduced food intake by nine per cent.

New applications Kurstjens told NutraIngredients.com this morning that PinnoThin still makes up only a "small part" of Lipid Nutrition's overall sales, but added that the company was expecting to see strong sales growth for the ingredient.

"Weight-loss is a fast-growing market, it's still a relatively new trend and a lot of companies are interested in it.

We expect the market to grow, and we expect a lot from PinnoThin," he said.

So far, the oil version of PinnoThin has been used primarily in dietary supplements, but also in some drinks, chocolates and bars in Europe.

In the US, it has not yet been used in any food products, even though the ingredient is self-affirmed GRAS (generally recognized as safe).

The company said that the new PinnoThin Powder can be used in a variety of applications, including nutrition bars and shakes, dairy products, beverages and bakery goods.

In terms of price, Kurstjens said the powder form will be "a little bit higher" than the oil form of the ingredient.

The powder will be launched next week in the US at Supply Side East, and in Europe at Vitafoods in May.