A Strong Defense

Stress levels are high and health care costs are rising. Maintaining good health is more important than ever, which means the immune health ingredients market is, well, quite healthy.

Heather Biehl, manager for Wild Flavors’ Health Ingredients and Technology Solutions team, points out that the H1N1 swine flu and bird flu outbreaks in 2008 and 2009 heightened public awareness about how the immune system is tied into other parts of the body.

There are a number of ingredient and beverage manufacturers that are going to great lengths to back up the effectiveness of their immune-enhancing products with clinical studies and scientific research.

Health studies have shown that “good” bacteria, also known as probiotic and prebiotic bacteria often found in dairy or yogurt, promote a healthy digestive system and supports immunity. Ingredient supplier Danisco now targets its Howaru probiotic strains to the immune health market and the ingredient can be found in a number of yogurt and yogurt-type drinks throughout the world. Danisco backs up the ingredient with a number of clinical studies showing that the probiotic strains, when consumed regularly, can help boost the immune system.

“Yogurt companies have done a good job of tying immune health with digestive health. One of the big trends we see is immune health and stress, and what stress does to the body, and also creating more focus on year-round immunity and prevention,” says Cheryl Sturm, marketing director for Embria Health Sciences, which developed and markets Epicor, an immune health ingredient.

The focus of a number of clinical studies, Epicor, which is made up of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants, has been proven to decrease the incidence of certain symptoms associated with seasonal allergies as well as reduce the incidence and duration of cold and flu-like symptoms, the company says. According to Sturm, Epicor is a versatile ingredient that can be used in various functional beverages at effective levels.
Lifeway Foods has been marketing kefir, a cultured dairy drink high in probiotic bacteria, in the U.S. for more than 20 years. The company combined its proprietary ProBoost blend of 10 live and active probiotic cultures with the vitamin C-rich fruit acerola to develop BioKefir Immunity.

Somewhat new to the market is a little-known ingredient that’s been getting attention for its immune-enhancing benefit—colostrum, the first milk produced by female mammals that’s fed to their newborns. Cow’s colostrum is now marketed as an ingredient for functional beverages as it’s considered a potent and natural immune-boosting ingredient.
New Zealand-based Col+ Colostrum is a milk-based functional beverage available in peach and strawberry flavors that offers 1,500 milligrams of bovine colostrum.

Wild Flavors markets Immunel, a branded immune health ingredient that contains milk peptides and colostrum and has been shown in studies to increase the number and strength of immune cells. According to the company, Immunel is a bioactive ingredient, which means it’s easy to digest and fast-acting, so it provides a targeted immune response.
Another ingredient gaining ground is Beta glucan. Biotechnology company Biothera markets Wellmune WGP, a beta glucan ingredient derived from a proprietary baker’s yeast strain. According to Rich Mueller, Biothera president and CEO, the company has done a number of human clinical trials, the results of which have been published in peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals illustrating Wellmune’s safety and effectiveness.

“We’ve seen in our studies that routine consumption of Wellmune helps maintain physical health. People who take Wellmune tend to have fewer cold or flu symptoms or they last for a shorter period of time than those who take placebos,” says Don Cox, senior vice president of research and development
at Biothera.

Wellmune is now in a number of food and beverage products in 33 countries, including Canadian brand Lassonde’s Oasis Health Break Immuniforce and MonaVie’s (M)mun Daily Immune Defense drink.

Rather than boosting the immune system, some ingredients were developed to help balance or maintain immunity, such as Epicor and Wellberry from Nutragenesis.

A little fruit once unknown outside of Tahiti, the noni fruit is emerging as a big player in the immune health market. Tahitian Noni International invested $200 million in research into the health benefits of noni fruit and discovered the fruit is rich in iridoids, a bioactive phytochemical that reduces harmful free radicals, enhances the immune system and protects cells. The company used this research to create Tahitian Noni Bioactive Beverages, a line of functional drinks designed to promote overall health with a high content of bioactive iridoids.