The prototype capsule, dubbed 'LycoQ', combines LycoRed's proprietary whole tomato extract with Soft Gel's propriety CoQ10. Lyc-o-mato is standardized to 6 percent lycopene and contains numerous other cartenoids, while CoQsol is marketed for its bioavailability compared to hard shelled-versions powder versions of the coenzyme formulation.
The combination of lycopene and CoQ10 is noteworthy as both of these nutraceutical ingredients have gained a lot of ground in recent years, and combining their benefits could be another successful chapter in their story.
"There's good science behind both of them," LycoRed vice president of marketing and business development Scott Larkin told NutraIngredients-USA.com.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition published risk assessments on both lycopene and CoQ10 in March and reported use of lycopene in dietary supplements to have "soared" in recent years, while use of CoQ10 is "widespread". The popularity and public awareness of the ingredients is due to extensive research as well as petitions to the US Food & Drug Administration for health claims, according to CRN.
Israeli company LycoRed claims Lyc-o-mato has superior bioavailability giving it greater antioxidant benefits. CoQsol supports heart health and Soft Gel claims it too has enhanced bioavailability.
"The two together will absorb into the system," said Larkin of the effects of the proprietary ingredients on the body.
The soft gel format is a significant plus for LycoQ, claims Larkin, because it promotes this bioavailability. As an oily resin, lycopene is suited for soft gel encapsulation, says the company, and CoQsol is specifically designed for this type of capsule.
LycoQ is ready to be marketed by client distributors on the platform of heart health and antioxidant benefits. Each LycoQ soft gel provides 7.5mg of lycopene from Lyc-o-mato and 50mg of CoQsol formulation of CoQ10.
LycoRed attributes Lyc-o-mato's biovailability to its extraction process, as well of its suspension of lycopene in tomato oil and the specific combination of phytonutrients in its formulation. Aside from lycopene and tomato oil, Lyc-o-mato also contains phytoene, phytofluene, beta-carotene, mixed tocopherols, phytosterols, beta-carotene, mixed tocopherols, phytosterols, and phospholipids.
Soft Gel is looking to sell LycoQ to distributors primarily in North America, but likely in Europe as well, said Larkin.
The move to mix lycopene and CoQ10 and market them together for heart health may be watched by other companies who could follow suit with non-proprietary versions.
"Those two ingredients are not new," said Larkin of lycopene and CoQ10. "Other people can mix them if they want."