Applied Food Sciences fills gap in natural and functional beverage space with new soluble organic extracts

There are universal challenges beverage manufacturers encounter when extracting ginger and vitamin C including solubility and mouthfeel.

Upgrading ginger beverages​

According to Innova Market Insights, ginger is the number one herb/spice in supplements found in 25% of products on the market and is also a primary ingredient in 21% of functional food and beverage products.  

Falling in line added health benefits many consumers are seeking out in beverages, ginger contains the active compound, gingerol, known for its nausea-combatting and antioxidant attributes.

However, formulating beverages with real ginger is a usually “cloudy-pulpy-challenge” ​due to its inherent lack of solubility which leaves many companies resorting to using a ginger flavor in its place, foregoing the functional health benefits the root naturally provides.  

“The beverages that do contain real ginger almost always have some sedimentary-texture to them, offering what many consumers would deem a poor mouth-feel,”​ AFS said.

The benefits of using an extract, like PurGinger, instead of a raw ginger root go beyond the ease of formulation, says AFS. Production time and costs are cut down since using an organic extract rather than the entire root requires less processing and equipment, resulting in less material waste as well as decreased shipping costs of transporting ginger root.

Commercially available, plant-based vitamin C​

According to AFS, commercial availability of organic vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is virtually non-existent for use by beverage manufacturers because of the challenges encountered extracting it from plant sources.

“While vitamin C is naturally found in citrus fruits, green vegetables and tomatoes, it might be a shock to learn that most vitamin C used for supplements and beverages is actually synthetically derived,”​ AFS said.

Obtaining high levels of vitamin C in its raw form is often a costly process and typical extraction methods usually product an extract that is neither potent nor soluble enough for functional beverages manufacturers to use effectively.

AFS says it has solved these issues by extracting vitamin C for Pur-C from organic gooseberry which has 20 times more vitamin C compared to most other citrus fruits and green vegetables. Pur-C organic vitamin C extract is standardized at 25% vitamin C.

Consuming 120mg of the extract is considered to be an “excellent source”​ of ascorbic acid, according to US Department of Health’s recommend daily intake.