New Zealand’s healthcare professionals have expressed interest in receiving training on herbal medicine and acupuncture, as the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) grows in the country.
A total of 964 cases of public interest litigation have been filed against individuals and companies for the illegal production, marketing and sales of health foods in China in the last 15 months.
About 10 per cent of complementary medicines in Australia did not manage to transit to the new list of health indications permitted by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and have been cancelled.
Probiotics that address inflammation, diabetes, and muscle health received the largest percentage growth in terms of the number of consumer reviews globally last year, showing growing interest amongst consumers in these types of products.
Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) supplementation has no significant effect in lean mass preservation and insulin sensitivity in obese adults undergoing weight loss, said researchers from Singapore.
New Zealand researchers are planning to conduct clinical trials on a kawakawa beverage with immune and metabolic health benefits, before refining the formulation and sell it in the export markets.
Malaysian tocotrienol supplier Excelvite is working with supplement brands to promote the use of tocotrienol-rich vitamin E to pharmacists and doctors treating patients with diabetic kidney disease (DKD), on the back of new clinical findings.
Medlab has embarked on clinical trials at varying stages for a number of its probiotics, including those targeted at alleviating depression, mucositis caused by cancer treatment, as well as addressing non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
South Korea’s import of health functional foods was up 23.4 per cent last year, higher than the three-year annual average of 21.4 per cent, with the US taking the top spot in product volumes.
Kirin Beverage will focus on no-to-low sugar, low-calorie and products with health benefits across its non-alcohol range after seeing soft drink sales slip by 9% in 2020.
A meta-analysis of 28 RCTs shows that vitamin C supplementation could improve blood glucose and blood pressure in people with diabetes, but long-term, high quality trials involving a larger study population are needed to validate its role in clinical...
South Korea will start the third phase of its mandatory traceability programme for special purpose foods, while international brands selling co-enzyme Q10, fish oil and melatonin into China for the first time will still need to enter the market via the...
Researchers have consolidated the glycaemic index (GI) of 940 common Asian and Middle Eastern food items such as nasi lemak, chapati, dim sum, dates and habba hamra in a review article published in the Nutrition and Diabetes journal.
Australia exchange ASX-listed company Jatcorp (previously known as Jatenergy) is to manufacture its probiotics-containing milk powder in-house from next month, with a launch date slated for April for its new products.
New regulations in Australia is making research on the role of complementary medicine, including Chinese medicine, to manage chronic diseases more attractive, according to a prominent researcher who stars in the 15th episode of our NutraChampion podcast.
See January's 10 most read stories, including new data on how the gut microbiome is linked to severity of COVID-19, Indian firm Windlas Biotech's launch of an artemisinin supplement as an adjunctive to COVID-19 treatment and more.
Interest in the infant nutrition benefits of bifidobacteria is soaring, with a raft of papers published in the last year, and a growing understanding of the impact that human residential strains can have on early-life development.
The Malaysian Dietary Supplement Association (MADSA) says its brand members are being disadvantaged by ‘unauthorised’ online retailers selling their products at lower prices – and is calling on the government to clampdown on the situation.
Trade body Natural Health Products New Zealand is urging the government to prioritise the regulatory reforms concerning natural health products, amid fears that dated, 36-year-old current regulations could be extended by another five years.
Australian company Omni Innovation is shifting its focus to the prescription retail channel for its blood glucose control product, as it seals a new partnership deal with fellow Australian pharmaceutical firm Myopharm.
Malaysia olive supplement company Nutriva International is set to launch new product for diabetic patients, as well as entering new markets such as Thailand this year.
South Korea has announced that general foods can make functional claims so long as there is sufficient scientific evidence backing the claims, but experts have said they do not believe that it will be to the detriment of the nation’s functional foods...
Consumption of a cacao polyphenol-rich chocolate was shown to reduce post-meal plasma glucose rise, according to a recent study funded by Meiji and undertaken by the University of Shizuoka in Japan.
Regulatory authorities across APAC are primed to announce new directions or updates to monitor the dietary supplements industry in 2021…Here’s what you need to know.
Problems with registration and ingredient compliance are some of the most common mistakes that nutraceutical firms have made when exporting their products to South Korea, according to a regulatory consultancy firm.
Vietnam, India and the regional halal market are on the radar for supplement companies when it comes to their expansion plans, according to a raft of top companies.
A pH and heat resistant technology for encapsulating probiotics – backed by a recently published study – is eyeing growth in APAC countries such as Singapore and Japan.
See our top 10 most read trends stories of 2020, including the bestselling nutraceuticals amid COVID-19, new immune health product launches, and consumption behaviour in China.
The intake of omega-3 could reduce fatality rates in severe COVID-19 patients, while protein could suppress catabolism and polyphenols could be used to fight inflammation, a group of nutrition experts from China advised.
Companies advertising their dietary supplement products in New Zealand should avoid pitfalls such as making therapeutic claims, using imagery that implies therapeutic purposes, or overpromising a health outcome.
Japan’s Nissin Food Group has launched a psyllium-based powder that claim to suppress triglyceride, glucose and blood pressure levels post-meal – the first products under its new Triple Barrier brand.
The supplementation of a multi-strain probiotics powder for at least eight weeks could reduce total cholesterol and triglycerides in diabetics, according to a meta-analysis by Chinese researchers.
A combination of probiotics supplementation and intermittent fasting could improve the mental wellbeing of prediabetics but played no significant effect in diabetes prevention or weight loss, says a 12-week trial.
See our top 10 most read regulatory stories of 2020, including COVID-19 lockdown and essential business status, South Korea’s control on imported krill oil and more.
Danone has launched Aptamama – a probiotic product for preventing lactation mastitis in breastfeeding mothers. The product is exclusively sold in China.
A new report commissioned by the United Nations (UN) has urged the Indonesian government to increase its focus on food diversity and nutrient fortification within the local food supply to combat rising nutrition-related issues such as obesity and anaemia.
The long-awaited harmonisation of supplement rules across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has moved a step closer, with the new regulations set to be formally signed off next November.
Australian supplement brand Nature’s Way says its toddler nutrition range Kids Smart has smashed new sales records and was the pivotal in the firm’s overall performance in this year’s Double 11 shopping event in China.
Atlas Biomed has launched its home-based gut microbiome test in Japan as part of its personalised nutrition service – the first APAC venture for the company.
The combined supplementation of the botanical berberine and probiotics has been found to help reduce blood sugar levels in diabetic patients, more so than taking each product alone, says a 12-week RCT conducted in China.
The ever-changing China health foods industry is seeing new waves of trends, with a sudden interest in nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), the prevalence of livestreaming in product marketing, and the potential for further e-commerce growth.
In this round-up of new developments across nutrition brands, we look at Herbalife's plans to engage the healthcare professionals in nutrition education, Morinaga further expanding the use of its flagship probiotic strain in infant products and more.
Herbalife has outlined its plans to engage the healthcare community, including general practitioners, nutritionists, and dietitians, to better educate APAC consumers about the right nutrition intake.