Unilever has struck a deal with the makers of tomato extract Fruitflow to develop new products to boost its heart-friendly portfolio.
Developed by London-based nutritional products firm Provexis, Fruitflow is a patented natural tomato extract, which reduces the aggregation of the blood platelets responsible for blood clots - the trigger for heart attacks and strokes.
Fruitflow is the active ingredient in Provexis’ heart-healthy drink Sirco, which has several supermarket listings. However, a second generation, concentrated version of the ingredient was currently under development, said Provexis chief executive Stephen Moon (pictured).
“Fruitflow is currently supplied as a coloured syrup. However, it’s very sugary, and 98% of the ingredient you don’t need, so we’ve been removing the background sugars to make a concentrated powder without the flavour and colour, which will extend its range of applications into food, beverage, supplement and medical formats. We have had good success in large-scale pilot trials, carried out at Moore Park in Ireland.”
The new products would complement other Unilever products targeting high blood pressure and cholesterol, said Jim Busby, vice president Unilever Foods R&D (spreads and cooking products). He added: “Heart-health is and always has been a strong focus area for Unilever. Once we have performed our standard safety and efficacy tests for the application of the tomato extract in our products and we have set up a cost-effective supply chain, we will seek to use this natural heart healthy ingredient in our global foods portfolio.”
However, Provexis would retain the rights to commercialise Fruitflow in drinks (excluding mini-drinks) containing fruit juice; products marketed for deep vein thrombosis (DVT), over the counter medicines, medical foods, dietary supplements and prescribed medical products, said Moon. “We continue to be active in assessing the development of a product with a major international juice brand owner. And we also continue to seek partners in the area of deep vein thrombosis.”
Provexis would begin clinical trials on a second bioactive ingredient (an extract from a strain of ‘super-broccoli’ containing high levels of the anticarcinogen sulphoraphane), in June, he said.
The extract has been developed with Plant Biosciences, the technology transfer organisation of the Institute of Food Research in Norwich, UK, and a large seed company.