Eyeing sports beverage formulators, BGG releases water dispersible astaxanthin
The product features a trademarked technology called Dispersa, developed by a Switzerland-based independent lab. The ingredient comes in liquid form to use in ready-to-drink products, or powdered for use in powdered finished products.
Most astaxanthin finished products, marketed for the carotenoid’s support of immune system responses and cellular protection, come in capsule or tablet form.
“Astaxanthin in ready-to-drink and liquid formulas is a nascent category, but we think it could be huge, particularly for the athlete market,” Bob Capelli, executive vice president of global marketing at AlgaeHealth, told NutraIngredients-USA.
”There are [clinically-validated] health benefits of Astaxanthin for athletes many athletes love drinkable formulas which can help keep them hydrated while at the same time delivering tangible benefits.”
One example is astaxanthin’s potential in improving heart rates during exercise, based on results from a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of 28 recreational runners funded by BGG and published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
“We’ve seen competitive products claiming to be water dispersible which have sedimentation and suspended particles after mixing,” said Lixin Ding, PhD, General Manager of BGG North America. “Astaxanthin using Dispersa technology is completely transparent and stable over time with no aggregation, sedimentation or suspension of Astaxanthin.”
This product was developed by the Swiss lab under the direction of BGG Europe’s CEO Christian Artaria.
“We’re extremely enthusiastic about this state-of-the-art development,” said Artaria. “Astaxanthin is an ideal ingredient for several different applications that lend themselves to a drinkable delivery method, such as sports drinks and anti-aging health shots. Now we can offer a truly suitable solution for pioneering brands to bring the benefits of Astaxanthin to their consumers in drinkable form.”
AlgaeHealth’s AstaZine uses astaxanthin extracted using a supercritical CO2 method from Haematococcus pluvialis, a type of algae.
