Dutch health ingredients innovator NutriLeads is experimenting with new food ingredients made with immunity-supporting plant compounds. These are extracted from renewable crops or upcycled raw waste material, such as carrots.

Researchers have published peer-reviewed data in Nutrients that supports the immune modulating properties of the company’s proprietary pectin-derived rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) polysaccharides.

RG-I are natural, plant-derived compounds that interact with gut bacteria and the host innate immune system.

“NutriLeads is developing a range of food ingredients based on the unique effects of RG-I on the gut ecosystem including effects on immune function and the microbiota,” Dr. Ruud Albers, CEO of NutriLeads, tells NutritionInsight. 

“The first product, BeniCaros [a carrot-based RG-I], a food ingredient supporting immune function, will be available for the US market the second half of this year,” he notes.

“We are well advanced with generating additional evidence showing the immune benefits of carrot-derived RG-I and are working together with food and food supplement companies to deliver these benefits to consumers in the second half of 2021.” 

Lowering costs and overcoming regulatory hurdles
In seleced traditional plant extracts, such pectic polysaccharides have previously been shown to have immunostimulatory effects. However, these traditional remedies are often expensive, derived from non-renewable sources, and could face regulatory challenges.

“Carrot RG-I can be obtained from a side stream of carrot juice production upcycling carrot pomace, which is available in large quantities and is currently mainly used as animal feed,” notes Albers. 

In the recent publication in Nutrients, NutriLeads shows that RG-I can be extracted from other affordable and renewable crops, such as bell peppers, and allows for scalable production. 

Upcycling was notably pegged as “the new recycling,” by Innova Market Insights in its “The Sustain Domain” Top Trend for 2020.

Stimulating immunity and modulating microbiota
RG-I from both carrot and bell pepper showed immune stimulating and microbiota modulating activity in vitro. Furthermore, bell pepper RG-I was shown to enhance innate immune responsiveness in a proof-of-concept trial in humans.

“Due to the pandemic, immune health is even higher on the agenda than ever before,” highlights Dr. Albers.

Demand for food supplements and food and beverage products with immune health properties has been growing sharply in recent years, and has been pushed up further by the COVID-19 pandemic’s onset. 

While trend shows no signs of abating, Innova Market Insights has highlighted “In Tune with Immune” as a Top Trend for 2021. The market researcher found that immunity is a top priority for today’s consumers, with six in ten people looking for functional foods and beverages to support this health benchmark.

Innova Market Insights research also indicates that 54 percent of global consumers claimed to have spent time educating themselves on ingredients and procedures that could boost their immune health in the wake of concerns over COVID-19.

As might be expected in the light of the world health crisis, the use of immune health positionings for food and drinks is rising, with 1.7 percent of global launches over the first ten months of 2020 using this type of claim, up from just 1 percent five years previously.