Slimming Ingredients awards science in Berlin

The ingredient, containing the polyunsaturated fatty acid pinolenic acid derived from the seeds of the Korean pine nut tree ( Pinus koraiensis ) was found to boost expression of the appetite-suppressing hormones (glucagon-like peptide-1) GLP-1 and cholecystokinin (CCK).

The hormones are reported to work by delaying the emptying of the stomach (gastric emptying) and thereby promoting the feeling of fullness.

Lipid Nutrition's Dr. Louise Mennen reported results from a randomised, cross-over, placebo-controlled trial with 18 overweight post-menopausal women that found that a daily supplement of 3 grams of PinnoThin led to a 60 and 25 per cent increase in CCK and GLP-1 response over a four-hour period, compared to the olive oil placebo.

Dr. Marvin Edeas, chairman of the conference´s organising committee and president of the French Society of Antioxidants, told NutraIngredients.com that the panel thought that PinnoThin had merited the award based on the interesting short and long-term clinical trials that showed the ingredient's efficacy.

"We were very convinced by this interesting work with an ingredient that was natural and minimally transformed," he said.

Dr. Edeas also paid tribute to the other ingredients short-listed for the award, highlighting the strong science presented by all.

With 50 per cent of Europeans and 62 per cent of Americans classed as overweight, the food industry is waking up to the potential of products for weight loss and management, with the category already estimated to already be worth $7bn worldwide.

Patrick Heens, sale manager for Lipid Nutrition, told NutraIngredients.com that the award meant a lot for Lipid Nutrition and PinnoThin.

"The award encourages Lipid Nutrition to strive to really scientifically sound ingredient, although the investment is large to bring an ingredient to the market, this award shows it is the right strategy," he said.

Heens said that a lot of large food companies have chosen to go ahead with the ingredient in their products, and that for new and existing customers the award was "recognition that they have made the right choice."

Nine ingredients were nominated for the award, including Actisod (Ninapharm), Fabuless (DSM), Highly Concentrated Green Tea Extract (Healthy Slim Center), Lean Gard (Sabinsa), Peru Liana (Engelhard), Pinnothin (Lipid Nutrition), Sveltol (Berkem), Trisynex (Imagenetix), Zotrim (Nature Remedies).

The judging panel's top three for the award were Pinnothin (Lipid Nutrition), Fabuless (DSM), and Actisod (Ninapharm).

Slimming Ingredients Germany 2007 was attended by over 100 delegates from industry, including General Mills, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Cadbury Schweppes, Campina, Cognis, Danone, Dohler, Kellogg Company, Kraft Foods, Kemin Health, Lonza, Mastefoods, Sara Lee, and Tate & Lyle, as well as many from academic institutions world-wide.

The organisers of the conference, the International Society for Antioxidants for Health and Nutrition (ISANH), deemed the event sufficiently successful to have preliminary scheduled the Second International Conference on Innovations and Trends in Weight Loss and Weight Management for the same time next year.