NutraSift: The nutraceutical innovation podcast

Siftlink SA

Following the latest trends in nutraceutical science

  1. May 25

    Commodity ingredient prices tell you nothing about the value of the science inside

    Curcumin: $3-34/kg commodity, $60-600/kg branded. Astaxanthin: $2,500/kg synthetic (aquaculture), $7,000+/kg natural (supplement). Saffron stigma: $5,000-10,000/kg raw, $0.30/dose clinical. Ginseng root: $50-200/kg standard, $10,000-50,000/kg wild. The spread between commodity price and branded price is entirely a function of scientific understanding: mechanism and patent and clinical evidence and brand = 5-20x premium. Publications of interest: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10061533/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6806606/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9654660/

    5 min

  2. May 25

    The April 2025 CJEU ruling: the day 2,000 botanical health claims became illegal in the EU

    The CJEU ruled that generic botanical health claims (the "on-hold" list) are prohibited until EFSA evaluation is complete, a process frozen since 2010. This affects every botanical ingredient company selling in the EU. But Article 13.5 allows proprietary claims based on your own clinical evidence. The ruling didn't just block generic claims, it eliminated generic competition. For companies with mechanism data and patents, this is the most advantageous regulatory environment in EU nutraceutical history. Publications of interest: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:62023CJ0386, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11879797/

    5 min

  3. May 22

    Amaranth: The only grain with meaningful nitrate content for sports performance

    Amaranth leaves contain high levels of inorganic nitrate, the same compound found in beetroot that converts to nitric oxide for vasodilation and athletic performance. But unlike beetroot (a root vegetable), amaranth is a complete protein source AND a nitrate source. Arjuna Natural's Oxystorm positions amaranth leaf extract as a nitric oxide ingredient, an entirely different market than "ancient grain." Publications of interest: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7359009/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27131407/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5969023/

    6 min

  4. May 22

    Andrographis: The 'King of Bitters' that Thailand used as a COVID treatment

    In 2021, Thailand's Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine approved andrographis (Fah Talai Jone) for early-stage COVID-19 treatment. Andrographolide covalently binds to the p50 subunit of NF-kB one of the most specific and irreversible anti-inflammatory mechanisms known in natural products. This isn't weak binding or allosteric modulation. It's a covalent modification. That's drug-level mechanism specificity in a plant extract that costs pennies. Publications of interest: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15356172/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11246112/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12351123/

    6 min

  5. May 21

    Forskolin: The only natural molecule that directly activates adenylyl cyclase

    Forskolin is the sole known natural direct activator of adenylyl cyclase the enzyme that produces cAMP (cyclic AMP), one of the most important second messengers in cell biology. cAMP activates everything from hormone-sensitive lipase (fat burning) to CFTR chloride channels (cystic fibrosis) to platelet inhibition. Pharma companies spend billions targeting cAMP pathways. Nature made one molecule that does it directly. It comes from an Indian root. Publications of interest: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12825829/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6267587/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22393824/

    6 min

  6. May 21

    Lycopene: Cooking tomatoes makes them healthier, the opposite of every other vegetable

    Heat processing (cooking, canning) converts lycopene from trans to cis configuration, which is 2-3x more bioavailable. Unlike most nutrients that degrade with cooking, lycopene actually becomes MORE available from processed tomatoes. Tomato paste has more bioavailable lycopene than raw tomatoes. The best "supplement" form of lycopene might be pizza sauce. Publications of interest: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17391568/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11192026/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9209178/

    5 min

  7. May 20

    95% of botanical ingredients are standardized on the wrong compound

    Curcumin (standardized on total curcuminoids, not fractions). Ashwagandha (total withanolides, not specific ones). Boswellia (AKBA only, ignoring 4 other boswellic acids). Echinacea (chicoric acid, not alkamides). Ginseng (total ginsenosides, not specific ones).Silymarin (total complex, not silybin A vs B). The standardization method was designed for quality control, it was never intended to capture mechanism specificity. Every ingredient standardized on "total X%" is a transformation opportunity for whoever maps the fractions. Publications of interest: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4961437/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2488332/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2570109/

    5 min

  8. May 20

    Caralluma fimbriata: A famine food that suppresses appetite and the clinical data can't decide if it works

    Indian tribal communities have consumed Caralluma fimbriata during famines specifically as an appetite suppressant for centuries. The traditional evidence is ethnobotanically robust. But modern clinical trials show mixed results some positive for waist circumference reduction, some failing on primary endpoints. The gap between consistent traditional use and inconsistent clinical trials suggests the standardisation may not capture the right active fractions. Publications of interest: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34758791/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17097761/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33762661/

    6 min
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Following the latest trends in nutraceutical science

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