Lipogen makes brain lipid dairy breakthrough

This is a natural fit for an ingredient that occurs naturally in milk anyway but which is generally destroyed in the milk pasteurisation and homogenisation process.

The ingredient, which is a tweaked version of the PS formula that has until now only been used in food supplements, was two years in development and is being groomed for the milk and yoghurt drink markets.

“This ingredient will enable dairies to work with PS within the scope of existing production methods and products,”​ Lipogen president David Rutenberg told NutraIngredients.com this morning.

Studies have demonstrated PS can regulate 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 (phosphatidil acid).

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

PS, which is kosher-certified, is marketed as an ingredient that can reduce stress levels as well as benefit cognitive degeneration and brain development in infants.

Natural habitat​

Rutenberg said negotiations had commenced with dairy players in Taiwan and France and meetings with North American dairies were scheduled for the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) trade show which begins in Anaheim, California, this weekend.

Rutenberg said the company had solved the taste, texture and mouthfeel problems that had in the past prevented PS being used in dairy products and other food matrices such as breakfast products. Microencapsulation had not been used but Rutenberg wouldn’t detail how the ingredient had been manufactured.

“PS occurs in milk and we have come as close as possible to mimicking PS as it exists naturally in milk,”​ Rutenberg said. “Milk is the natural habitat for PS.”​

Makers of milk powders are also being targeted, but not infant and follow-on formulas for which it can take many years to gain regulatory approval for the introduction of new ingredients. Only in South Korea is it approved in formula for infants.

But Lipogen was actively lobbying in this area to have PS introduced in this sector and has conducted sciwence

PS has GRAS (generally recognised as safe) status in the US and a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) qualified health claim relating to dementia in the elderly.

Rutenberg said no dosage was recommended, even in the qualified FDA claim, because it varied among population groups and depended on consumption patterns.