Brain health and balanced metabolism: how may botanical extract play a key role? Discover Indena’s products at Vitafoods 2024

Milan, 14th May 2024 – Brain health and balanced metabolism are the topics Indena will focus on at Vitafoods 2024. The Italian leading company in the field of nutraceuticals will share insight and news about its strategies to support two of the most relevant needs for people’s wellbeing.

Indena’s experts will welcome their stakeholders from 14^th to 16^th May at the Palexpo in Geneva - Booth B96 – Hall 4.

“We’re happy to be at Vitafoods again bringing some of our most important products with a proven efficacy both for brain health and metabolism’s balance – says Francesca de Rensis, Marketing Director at Indena SpA -. Our Virtiva^® plus, Ginkgo biloba with Phosphatidylserine, Enovita^®, grape seeds extract, Mirtoselect^®, bilberry extract, and our melissa Phytosome™, Relissa™, are all a great natural help to keep good mental and mood conditions. On the other hand Berbevis^®, our berberine Phytosome™, and Vazguard^®, Indena’s bergamot Phytosome™, are very effective in helping maintain human metabolism balanced. Among these products there are also sustainability champions, Enovita® and Mirtoselect®, which incorporate Indena’s true vision of circular economy. A confirm of our commitment to a responsible management of productions, starting from our supply chain and product design, with the aim of protecting nature, people and business”.

Brain and emotional health: two of today’s wellbeing challenges. Indena’s extracts bring help from the nature, always taking care of sustainability.

The ability to achieve optimal mental acuity and focus is of extreme importance for human life in different field, from athletic performances to scholary learning and memorization, and overall for a general health and wellbeing. To address these emerging needs, Indena has developed multiple high quality next generation extracts.

“Brain health is a common concern for people of all ages: for the youngest, in need to maintain focus and concentration in an age of distractions; for the adult population, dealing with hectic rhythms of a performance-oriented modern life; and for the silver age to take care of age-related fisiological decrease of brain performance – explains Serena Tongiani, Chief Portfolio Officer at Indena -. All these challenges can negatively affect emotions and mental balance. Botanical kingdom can effectively help achieve optimal mental acuity and mood states in different ways, if approached with science and quality. We’re proud to present Indena top quality ingredients and their evidence-based efficacy in improving cognitive function and emotional health”.

Virtiva^® Plus is a standardized Ginkgo biloba extract  smartly combined with phosphatidylserine, the major phospholipid in the brain, to synergistically support  memory, learning, vocabulary skills, and concentration. Enovita^® is a grape seeds extract that means benefit for cardiovascular and mental health thanks to a positive proven double effect on endothelial function and on stress and mood. Mirtoselect^® is an innovative standardized bilberry extract containing more than 36% of anthocyanins, scientifically validated in multiple human studies in vascular and eye health. The proven benefits of these ingredients on microcirculation, vascular health and eye health opened the way to a new research, currently in progress, to study the action of these extracts on cognition that is strictly linked to aspects as memory, concentration and visual acuity.

Talking about brain health also means considering emotional health. That’s why Indena’s proposal to support brain health includes also Relissa^TM, a health food ingredient based on the formulation of Melissa officinalis with phospholipids, i.e. Melissa Phytosome™, to optimize dispersion in gastrointestinal fluids and biological performance. Melissa leaves are a traditional sleep aid, but their biological activity is mostly due to hydroxycinnamic and rosmarinic acids and derivatives. Indena’s researchers achieved the perfect quantification and formulation of these two chemicals, making Relissa^TM a standardized, reliable and melatonin-free supplementation to support long-lasting and deep sleeping and contrasting stress generated during the day. Recent clinical evidence shows that this product offers a clear support to sleep, mood, emotional balance, mental health and quality of life.

Its performance is so interesting and innovative that Relissa™ has been selected as a finalist in this year’s NutraIngredients Awards - Ingredient of the Year for Cognitive Function. These awards recognize the best and brightest in ingredients, finished products, companies, people, and initiatives in the nutrition and dietary supplements industry. The award winners will be announced during the evening of Wednesday 15th May in Geneva.

To go deeper in Indena’s proposals to support brain health don’t miss the presentation by Serena Tongiani, Chief Portfolio Officer at Indena, Boost your brain and mental health with the help of nature, on May 15^th, 12 o’clock, New Ingredients Theatre.

The role of Indena’s botanicals for a balanced metabolism

Find a way to keep the metabolism balanced is one of our time’s main global health targets, in order to fight multifactorial conditions, first of all metabolic syndrome.

Berberine is a natural extract which, thanks to a pleiotropic effect, helps optimize peripheral blood metabolic profiles by modulating plasma sugar, insulin and lipids levels, thus resulting as a precious resource for the metabolic wellbeing. Working on berberine, Indena developed Berbevis^®, formulated with Indena Phytosome™, its multi-talented technology platform to improve the effectiveness and target ability of a wide range of natural compounds. Our studies show that Berbevis^® supplementation is the winning multi-target approach to metabolic health maintenance: it optimizes insulin levels effectively and noticeably modulates the blood sugar profile, optimizing both blood glycaemia and insulin.

Moreover, in a recent human study, the beneficial action of Berbevis^® on metabolic health was validated in a borderline hyperlipidemic population to evaluate the optimization of blood lipid profile. Subjects supplemented with Berbevis^® and following a healthy diet and lifestyle showed a statistically significant, positive modulation of lipid parameters, including total cholesterol, triglycerides and HDL, while maintaining a healthy body composition.

Vazguard^® is a standardized extract from Bergamot, Citrus bergamia Risso et Poiteau, formulated with Indena Phytosome™. Leveraging on this technology to improve performances Vazguard^® has shown to support health in case of challenges related to metabolic syndrome like visceral abdominal tissue, high blood sugar, abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels.

Both Indena’s botanical extracts have been therefore scientifically proven to provide positive support across multiple parameters associated with metabolic health.

Indena is committed to driving progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, aiming at putting sustainability first – from raw materials sourcing to production and marketing – with a focus on environmental impact, use of renewable energies and building a more circular economy.

Visit Indena at Vitafoods 2024: Booth B96 Hall 4
14-16 May 2023 – Palexpo, Geneva