The ingredient will be distributed through Lehvoss subsidiaries and teams across Europe with an anticipated 1.5 million Swiss francs in sales by the conclusion of 2025.
The agreement is the next step in Evolva’s global market expansion strategy, following market launch into five South-East Asian countries as well as Brazil in recent years.
Berry botanical
Resveratrol is a polyphenolic compound that occurs naturally in plants such as grapes, peanuts, cranberries and other berries, albeit at low concentrations.
Evolva’s Veri-te Resveratrol is a "high-purity" ingredient, made via fermentation, which ensures a stable, traceable and reliable supply. The ingredient is Novel Food approved for use in food supplements. It is offered in different grades for use in dietary supplements, functional beverages, cosmetics, pharma applications and animal health markets.
Available as a powder, as well as in water dispersible and water and fat soluble forms, Veri-te Resveratrol is the main pillar in Evolva’s Health Ingredients (HI) business and the firm says the ingredient was a key driver for the 14% revenue growth in HI recorded in the first half of 2023.
Anne De Vos, Evolva's Chief Commercial Officer, says: “We are very excited to strengthen the presence of our Veri-te Resveratrol across a wider range of European countries. Veri-te Resveratrol is a responsible multi-functional ingredient with proven health benefits supported by a number of clinical studies. We consider Lehvoss to be an ideal partner for the distribution of Veri-te Resveratrol due to its exceptional market capabilities.”
Healthy ageing in women
Evolva has released the results of a four-part study into the health benefits of the ingredient in menopausal women, named 'Resveratrol Supporting Healthy Aging in Women' (RESHAW).
The peer-reviewed publications from the RESHAW study reported the cerebrovascular and cognitive benefits, as well as bone mineral density improvements and pain reduction potential in postmenopausal women.
A 24-month randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial was undertaken in 125 postmenopausal women, aged 45–85 years, who took 75 mg trans-resveratrol or placebo twice-daily for 12 months and then crossover to the alternative treatment for another 12 months.
Aspects of well-being and quality of life were assessed with questionnaires as secondary outcomes of the study. Participants completed the six questionnaires that assessed their perceptions on general well-being, which include pain, mood and depressive symptoms, menopausal symptoms, sleep quality, and quality of life. These surveys were conducted at baseline, as well as at the 12 and 24 month intervals.
Cerebrovascular responsiveness to hypercapnia was measured as a surrogate marker of cerebrovascular function.
Resulting data revealed in June 2020 suggests regular supplementation with resveratrol has the potential to slow bone loss in the lumbar spine and femoral neck, common fracture sites in postmenopausal women without overt osteoporosis.
A report published in August 2020 concluded that resveratrol supplementation resulted a significant 33% improvement in overall cognitive performance, as well as enhanced cognition, cerebrovascular function and insulin sensitivity in the studies population. The authors say this may translate into a slowing of the accelerated cognitive decline due to ageing and menopause, especially in late-life women.
Further data published in 2021 revealed that, compared to placebo, resveratrol supplementation resulted a significant 33% improvement in overall cognitive performance.
The fourth peer-reviewed study, found that regular resveratrol supplementation can significantly reduce the composite pain score, menopausal symptoms and improve overall well-being.