China focus: COVID-19 research, yeast-based probiotics, A2 milk and more

China leads COVID-19 research in traditional, complementary, and integrative medicines, followed by India, US ​

China leads the world with the highest number of research publications​ on traditional, complementary, and integrative medicines (TCIMs) in relation to COVID-19 clinical trials, followed by India, US, and Iran.

Products that were being studied the most were Chinese medicine, individual health supplements (vitamins, minerals), combination health supplements and others (Ayurvedic medicine).

In 2020, there has been an increasing number of studies to include TCIMs in the management or treatment of COVID-19.

Novel WeChat app: Photo dietary assessment created for pre-natal care more accurate than dietary recall ​

Researchers from Nanjing Medical University in China have created an image-based dietary assessment embedded in WeChat​ for pregnant women and have found it to be more accurate than traditional methods such dietary recall.

As part of pre-natal care, dietary assessment plays an important role in maternal and foetus health.

The current methods used to assess dietary assessment are the 24-hour dietary recall and weighed food record.

Trial first: Angel Yeast studying yeast-based probiotics’ effects on IBD patients ​

Angel Yeast has embarked on a human clinical study that looks that the effects of a yeast-based probiotics​ on adults suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

The yeast-based probiotics to be tested is Saccharomyes boulardii Bld-3 (S. boulardii Bld-3)​ – a patented probiotic by Angel Yeast designed to address diarrhoea problems and improve digestive health.

The study, which will be conducted by Hua Zhong University of Science and Technology located in Wuhan, will be the first human clinical study conducted on the yeast-based probiotic.

A2 beyond formula: Ireland’s Grass to Milk taps livestreaming route to market premium grassfed products in China ​

Irish dairy newcomer Grass to Milk is using a hybrid of social commerce and traditional e-commerce to market its new A2-protein, grass-fed milk products as it seeks to make inroads to the lucrative China market.

The firm says it will adopt a mix of livestreaming, reviews and content​ across various social ecommerce platforms and traditional e-commerce for its two products, a UHT milk for all ages, and a children’s milk.

Dr Paul O’Brien, commercial director at Grass to Milk Company, told NutraIngredients-Asia: “We are a small brand and a new entrant, so we want to localise our strategy.​

‘First-mover advantage’: LemonBox serves up personalised nutrition recommendations to one million users in China ​

Personalised nutrition company LemonBox has serviced more than one million users ​in China with dietary and lifestyle recommendations.

Operating via an online questionnaire, it uses artificial intelligence and big data to generate a unique recommendation tailored to the end-user.

Recommendations can come in the form of dietary changes, lifestyle such as exercise or smoking, supplementation, or none at all, indicating an ideal lifestyle.