Japan Focus: Fucoidan firm's expansion and Meiji's pre-diabetic potential in the spotlight
Japanese fucoidan supplement manufacturer eyes Taiwan and South East Asia markets
MYM International, a fucoidan dietary supplements maker from Japan, is setting its sights on entering the Taiwanese and South East Asian markets.
Speaking to NutraIngredients-Asia at the Vitafoods exhibition held in Singapore, Yasushi Nagasue, CEO of MYM International told us the state of the fucoidan industry in Japan and the firm’s expansion plans.
At present, Japan’s fucoidan market is worth 15 billion yen, and around 90% of the Japanese consumers are cancer patients, Nagasue revealed.
Most of these patients suffer from stomach or intestinal cancers, as clinical studies had shown that fucoidan was able to shrink tumour size and alleviating the side effects of cancer treatments, he added.
Probiotic strain could have significant anti-diabetes effects on pre-diabetics: Meiji study
The probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum OLL2712 could help to improve insulin resistance and glucose metabolism in pre-diabetic humans, according to a Meiji study.
Researchers from Meiji and the University of Tokyo had previously demonstrated that the administration of heat-killed OLL2712 cells managed to suppress chronic inflammation and improve hyperglycaemia in obese, diabetic mice.
For the current study, they sought to preliminarily examine the impact of OLL2712 supplementation on glucose metabolism and chronic inflammation in pre-diabetic human subjects.
The region's leading probiotic and microbiome event — Probiota Asia — will get underway in Singapore this month with a stellar line-up of speakers, including the likes of Blackmores, Danone, Herbalife and Life-Space, set to take to the stage.
Japanese and French nutricosmetics among the most popular brands at this year's Tmall Super Brand Day
Japanese and French nutricosmetics products proved the best performers during Tmall's annual Super Brand Day sales event.
The three-day event which ended on Sep 3 was held in conjunction with international brands including Swisse, Floreve, Biocyte and Esthe Pro Labo.
Tmall said the event had ended on a blast. Sales accumulated during the event was the second highest in the last twelve months.
Sales reaped on the first day of the event was also higher than this year’s “618” dragon boat festival.
Probiota Asia: Life-Space boss to reveal how consumer insights can lead to more relevant research
The CEO of Evolution Health – which enjoyed meteoric growth with its Life-Space probiotic brand that was recently acquired by China's By-Health for almost $700m – will deliver a keynote address at our Probiota Asia summit in October.
Craig Silbery, CEO at Evolution Health, will discuss the role of Australian manufacturing in the company’s success; and how the rules, regulations and frameworks have helped drive Australia’s reputation for clean and green products.
He will also analyse the consumer insights that influence how Life-Space chooses its probiotic formulations and the customer trends emerging from both China and Europe.
Whey peptide intake may lead to improved cognitive function in adults: Kirin study
Whey peptide consumption may help to improve cognitive function in people who experience a high level of subjective fatigue, according to a study by beverage company Kirin.
Previous epidemiological and clinical studies have found dairy products to be beneficial to those suffering from cognitive decline and dementia.
Additionally, enzymatic digestion of whey protein produces a whey peptide high in peptides associated with tryptophan-tyrosine, which have been shown to improve cognitive performance in mice.
