Lipogen pockets European patent and heads west

Lipogen will mount a campaign to break into booming western European mood food markets with the clinically-backed ingredient currently available only in Israel and the US since its launch in early 2007.

Lipogen PAS is a combination of phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidil acid (PA) which Lipogen claims is the only functional ingredient of its kind on the global market.

Chief executive officer David Rutenberg told NutraIngredients.com the western European food supplements market would be the first port of call with foods and beverages to follow.

He would not reveal which countries the ingredient being marketed as an aid to stress-related "modern lifestyle issues" would appear in first.

"Obviously the elderly segment of the population will be targeted as maintaining cognitive function is important to this age group but Lipogen PAS is being marketed at all age groups who suffer from stress-related mental disorders," Rutenberg said.

"Increasingly it is younger people who are energy-deprived that are suffering the most from stress."

Clinicals Lipogen PAS works by controlling cortisol levels, a hormone the body can over-produce under stressful conditions, which can adversely affect the body's natural production of PS and PA.

PS and PA are found in the outer membrane of the brain and help it function optimally.

A 2004 clinical study conducted at the University of Trier, Germany and published in the International Journal on the Biology of Stress , demonstrated Lipogen PAS can boost PS and PA levels required to curtail the hormonal reaction to stress and therefore improve performance.

Other studies have linked PS, once derived from the brains of cows, to improvements in memory and mood, and in particular, to delaying the symptoms of Alzheimer's.

Lipogen said long-term stress, coupled with increased cortisol levels are "directly related to the metabolic syndrome, which can eventually lead to obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes."

Lipogen PAS, which is kosher-certified, won GRAS approval in the US in April 2007.

It can be employed there in functional beverages, nutrition bars and dairy products.

A 2003 Food and Drug Administration-approved health claim is in place for phosphatidylserine (PS) food supplements that states: "Phosphatidylserine may reduce the risk of cognitive dysfunction in the elderly."

Rutenberg said similar claim applications had been submitted to the European Commission under the health and nutrition claims regulation with verdicts expected on those by 2010.

PS and PA are found naturally in soybeans, fish, green leafy vegetables, and rice.