Nature’s Bounty extends probiotics range with Cardio Health launch

19-Apr-2017 - Last updated on 20-Apr-2017 at 14:23 GMT

Related tags Cholesterol

The Nature’s Bounty Co’s newest probiotic product is starting to appear on shelves this week, with significant scientific substantiation for its ability to support heart health by maintaining healthy cholesterol levels

The Cardio Health product will be distributed across all channels, and has been accepted at most major drug and grocery chains, as well as in some mass stores, a spokesperson for the company told NutraIngredients-USA.

The product is formulated with the Lactobacillus reuteri NCIMB 30242, which has been shown to support healthy cholesterol levels and maintain heart health.

Safety data for the strain has been published in Food and Chemical Toxicology (2012, Vol. 50, pp. 2216-2223) and Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology (2012, Vol. 63, pp. 313-320), while the efficacy is supported by data from double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized human trials. The RCT data is published in prestigious journals such as the British Journal of Nutrition (2012, Vol. 107, pp. 1505-1513) and the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2012, Vol. 66, pp. 1234-1241).

The BJN paper reported that a yogurt formulation containing L. reuteri NCIMB 30242 could reduce LDL cholesterol by about 9% and total cholesterol by about 5% over six weeks.

The second study was a nine-week intervention with 127 participants, which found that L. reuteri NCIMB 30242 capsules could reduce LDL and total cholesterol by 11.6% and 9.1%, respectively, in people with elevated cholesterol levels.

The cholesterol-busting effects are due to the strain’s production of BSH – bile salt hydrolase – which works in the gut through bile metabolism; a natural metabolic process that has downstream effects on LDL cholesterol. Since fewer bile salts are reabsorbed and recycled, the liver has to use cholesterol to make new bile salts. In addition, fewer bile salts are available in the digestive tract to emulsify dietary lipids, which decreases the absorption of cholesterol from the diet.

Vitamin D levels

gut health — Digestive Health is one of The Nature’s Bounty Co. specific benefit platforms, and so scientific research – and the resulting product innovation -- will absolutely continue to include probiotics, among other things, as an area of focus, a spokesperson told NutraIngredients-USA. Image © iStock

Post-hoc analysis of the RCT data also showed that supplements containing the probiotic strain may boost circulating vitamin D levels in the blood by 25%. The study, published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, was reportedly the first to show that oral probiotic supplements may increase circulating levels of the sunshine vitamin.

Maile Combs, Senior Nutrition Scientist at the Nature’s Bounty Co., told NutraIngredients-USA: “The fact that this strain is backed by high quality clinical trials is the very reason we’ve added it to our probiotic portfolio – this reflects our science focused innovation strategy.”

The Nature’s Bounty Co. licensed use of the strain from Wisconsin-based UAS Laboratories, LLC, which own the IP assets associated with L. reuteri NCIMB 30242, including the patents, trademarks, clinical documentation and associated research.