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After juices, Olive Lifesciences launches herbal coffee brand i-Coffee
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Tuesday, 19 August, 2014, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
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fiogf49gjkf0d Olive Lifesciences, which specialises in standardised herbal extracts and nutraceutical formulations, has developed i-Coffee, a healthy coffee alternative. It was launched in Salem recently, and is being distributed by its marketing arm, Indus Viva Pvt Ltd. The introduction of i-Coffee followed the company’s multi-fruit juice offering, i-Pulse, which was launched earlier this year. “The concept of offering coffee with herbs for pre-diabetics without altering the taste was a positive outcome,” stated Dr H N Shivaprasad, vice-president, research and technical affairs. The company commenced research and development (R&D) for the product six months ago.
Its key ingredient, Salacia, is a branded herbal ingredient of Olive Lifesciences. “It was standardised to contain the desired percentage of polyphenols in Salacia reticulata extract. Now this was developed by the company’s R&D centre one-and-a-half years ago, and clinically studied for blood sugar management,” Dr Shivaprasad added. Species of Salacia, known as Ponkoranti, have been used for thousands of years to treat diabetes. Its extracts have been extensively consumed in Japan, the United States and other countries as a food supplement to prevent obesity and diabetes.
Coffee is a complex mixture of more than a thousand substances, including caffeine, phenolic compounds, minerals and vitamins like magnesium, potassium, manganese, chromium, niacin, and fibres.
“Several of these coffee constituents have a possible role in glucose metabolism. Coffee mixes well with herbs to moderate its effects or to create synergistic blends,” stated Dr Shivaprasad. The findings of the clinical study, published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, indicated the benefits of Salcital for pre-diabetes management and mild to moderate hyperlipidemia.
A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted by the company with an investigator from the Bangalore Medical College, which helped to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Salcital extract in 29 subjects with pre-diabetes and mild to moderate hyperlipidemia.
Subjects received either Salacia extracts or placebos, along with therapeutic lifestyle changes, for a period of six weeks.
“Researchers observed a significant reduction in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and fasting blood sugar (FBS) levels in the third and sixth week in patients treated with Salcital,” Dr Shivaprasad added. The research and product development was funded with the internal resources of Olive Lifesciences. Recently, the company a filed a patent in India on the Salcital composition and its synergistic effect studied in an in-vitro model. Currently, the company is working on developing a tea blend using herbs for joint support. In addition, the Coconut Development Board (CDB) provided a research grant of Rs 36 lakh to Dr Shivaprasad, the principal investigator, to develop a nutraceutical ingredient from coconut milk powder focussing on memory indication.
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