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Natural
Nutrition 4 Health |
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Introduction The crucial importance of natural ingredients over synthetic chemical and pharmaceutical compounds is their enormous chemical diversity and potential for new therapeutic discoveries. It has been estimated that less than 10% of plants and 1% of marine life has been tested for biological and therapeutic activity. A comparison of the makeup of compounds is established databases shows that at least 40% of active compounds are absent in synthetic chemistry.1,2 An enormous opportunity exists therefore for a company such as ours with state-of-the-art technology and research facilities to identify and bring to market natural products that are targeted at specific health conditions.
Our company's essential difference to its peers in the industry is that it is truly committed to the most rigorous quality control and assurance procedures throughout research, product development and manufacturing processes. Our nutritional products have no artificial ingredients, coloring agents, or sweeteners. We use very pure ingredients that are manufactured under GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) conditions. And for those products we don't manufacture ourselves, our Quality Assurance and Control professionals review and ensure that manufacturing is conducted according to the same exacting standards as us. This emphasis on naturalness and quality is challenging for many reasons. Up to the 19th century, the effectiveness of herbal medicines, for instance, was collected on anecdotal evidence. In the latter part of the 20th century, effectiveness was made more specific by extraction methods that isolated "active fractions" so that concentrates could be used. Now in the 21st century, our company is one of the few natural products companies to standardize the extraction process on a molecular basis whereby we link the herb's natural chemical to a biological effect that is relevant to a therapeutic target. The same standardization methods apply to herbs, vitamins, supplements, and minerals whose ingredients come from a variety of sources such as animals, plants, fungi, mushrooms, etc. The essential challenge comes from the fact that herbs and minerals exhibit large variations in their composition, which can result in variable efficacy and health benefits without the adoption of standardization processes. The variations result from such factors as changes in season, climate, age or soil conditions, among many others. Standardization of botanicals and dietary supplements therefore stems from a recognition of the inherent variability found in elements of plant and mineral components. Use of scientific protocols and process control, measured by analytical methods using high-tech equipment, ensures a consistent level of bioactivity in any prepared extract. Our company's expertise and ability to reduce the variation of the potency and effects of supplement extracts gives customers the confidence that in every preparation, the health benefits and effects will be the same.
Our company is pleased to note that in March 2003, the Food and Drug Administration took action on ensure that consumers get the dietary ingredients that are listed on the labels of the supplements they purchase. This move was motivated by the recognition that some companies do not follow good manufacturing processes, and certainly do not come close to meeting the standards adopted by our company. When finalized, the proposed regulations will help protect consumers and give them greater confidence that products contain the ingredients promised by the labels and do not contain ingredients or contaminants that are not on the label. We can only applaud this development which will enhance consumer protection and ensure that manufacturers that cannot meet high standards for product manufacture get out of the business. It goes without saying that our company does not use such ingredients as Kava, or Ephedra or Noni, and numerous others where efficacy and safety are suspect. They would simply not pass the rigorous tests we impose upon ourselves. With high-tech equipment and facilities, the challenge of using natural products become opportunities to deliver first-class nutritional products. References 2. T Henkel, et al., Statistical Investigation into the Structural Complementarity of Nutritional Products and Synthetic Compounds. Ang. Chemie International Edition, 38 (1999), pp. 643-647.
Natural Nutrition 4 Health |
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