Sorting and Formulating Superfruits

Superfruits generally have high nutrient quantities, are powerful antioxidant sources, exert additional beneficial health properties and are tasty treats that help build consumer loyalty. Even with many questioning what makes them so superior, demand for these exotic choices is on the rise. Defining the superfruit market can be challenging, between domestic offerings such as blueberry and cranberry to foreign fruits such as pomegranate, mangosteen, noni, acai, goji and maqui. The one common thing they all possess is the marketing power that has put these fruits in products from snacks, bars, yogurt and beverages to supplements, extracts and lotions. With all these different fruits and forms, formulators must be careful to keep the nutrient power in their finished products.

This group of fruits comes with so many health benefit claims that it’s no wonder they were deemed “super.” In general, superfruits are said to contain a high amount of antioxidants, which help neutralize free radicals, the unstable molecules linked to the development of a number of diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other conditions. Superfruits also have amino acids, vitamins, calcium, and some carotenoids such as beta-carotene and lycopene. They are believed to aid the immune system, boost energy and support general well-being. Maureen McKenzie, Ph.D., Denali BioTechnologies, said superfruits can help regulate gene expression, regulate enzymes and help metabolism.

Andrew Carter, quality control, NP Nutra, agreed, noting many doctors say superfruits reduce the occurrence of the most common degenerative diseases.

Nutrient and health-benefit qualities of individual superfruits are also plentiful. Studies on blueberries have shown they help improve brain function;¹ have a high concentration of anthocyanidins;² are high in antioxidant properties, which may lead to a reduced risk of many chronic degenerative diseases;³ may prevent CVD and cancer;⁴ and have the potential to modulate inflammatory conditions in the central nervous system.⁵

Pomegranates are high in fiber, vitamin C and vitamin K and have potent antioxidant activity,⁶ can modify heart disease risk,⁷ help reduce coronary heart disease⁸ and may reduce type 2 diabetes.⁹ Verdure Sciences developed POMELLA®, a patented pomegranate extract, which has been studied for its specific health effects. “POMELLA has extended multi-phase absorption, potent antioxidant and wide-ranging effects on specific organs evident by published clinical research,” said Noah Herron, marketing coordinator, Verdure Sciences. “It has also recently been shown to promote oral and skin health.”

Cranberries are also high in antioxidants,¹⁰ have a high amount of vitamin C,¹¹ are full of anthocyanins¹² and have long been known to treat urinary tract infections (UTIs).¹³ Cranberries may also fight oral bacterium.¹⁴ Dan Souza Director of Sales and Marketing for Decas Botanicals, said, “Science has shown that the active ingredient in cranberries, proathocyanidins (PACs), are responsible for many of the health benefits. PACs have an anti-adhesion capability in that they inhibit harmful E. coli bacteria from binding to the walls of the urinary tract, thus preventing infection.” Souza also noted cranberries support digestive health.

Blueberries, pomegranates and cranberries have enjoyed worldwide recognition for many years, but some of the most popular superfruits have only recently made it to the Western diet. Acai comes from the Amazon rainforest and has been eaten by Brazilians for hundreds of years. Acai has fewer studies, but research has found it is a good source of vitamin C and antioxidants,¹⁵ has anti-inflammatory properties,¹⁶ has a high phenolic and phytochemical content,¹⁷ and has a high ORAC value.¹⁸

Noni is another Western newcomer with little clinical work. Noni was shown to interact well with insulin to reduce blood sugar levels in mice,¹⁹ exhibit potent anti-inflammatory activity,²⁰ stimulate the innate and adaptive immune systems to combat tumor cells,²¹ protect the liver from chronic exogenous,²² and combat fatigue and increase overall physical performance.²³ Noni is native to the Southeast Asia, but is now grown in Tahiti, Hawaii, India and the Dominican Republic. Noni has been used in Polynesia for various health conditions, including skin problems, immune issues and throat troubles.

Mangosteen has also broken into the market boasting periodontal (gum) disease prevention²⁴ and positive effects on cancer.²⁵ Jeff Chandler, XanGo, said research shows mangosteen may sustain a healthy cardiovascular system; support cartilage, joint function and the immune system; promote a healthy seasonal respiratory system; maintain intestinal health; and neutralize free radicals, but the research hasn’t been evaluated by FDA.

From China comes the goji berry (aka wolfberry). A study showed goji consumed for 14 days increased feelings of general well-being, and improved neurologic and psychological performance and gastrointestinal functions.²⁶ It also might help prevent or reduce free radical-related conditions.²⁷

Maqui is another superfruit on the market that one study found to be “an interesting source of anthocyanin extracts for food and pharmaceutical uses”²⁸ and contains more than four times the amount of antioxidants as wild blackberries.²⁹ Annie Eng , president and founder, Novelle International, said, “[The] top health benefits for maqui superberry are: a high antioxidant value to help fight free radicals and reduce oxidative stress, anti-aging properties, ability to boost immune response, anti-inflammatory properties and ability to improve cardiovascular health.”

Carlos Escalante, owner and chief operating officer, Novelle International, added customers laud the maqui superberry for its health benefits. “We have a number of customers who have called in with their experiences as to how maqui has helped with inflammation from arthritis symptoms and dramatically improved blood sugar and cholesterol numbers.”

The list of superfruits goes on. Paul M. Gross, Ph.D., from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, said he found 36 different fruits marketed as superfruits. Other superfruits of note are sea buckthorn, camu camu, papaya, acerola, black currant and elderberry.

Gross is the author of the Wikipedia article on superfruits and has done extensive research into their clinical studies. “There are several so-called superfruits with little scientific evidence for being called super.” He added, apples, oranges and tomatoes are rarely referred to as superfruits, but have better supporting science for their nutrient content than many superfruits, noting it will take about 10 more years of study before most superfruits will have the scientific validation to get FDA approval.

However, many marketers of superfruits feel while the science may be lacking now, soon Western researchers will report the health benefits of their products. Carter said, “Although there is little scientific evidence yet that these superfruits are superior to traditionally used fruits, there is a general feeling that this evidence will become available in the next few years.”

McKenzie said there is still more research needed on its blueberry blend, Aurora Blue. “We know there are unknown compounds in our blueberries that require quite a bit of research to chemically characterize and figure out what they are. We haven’t identified anything scientifically yet that we can put our finger on, but we know from the ancestral cultures that something is intrinsically good in our blueberries.”

It seems consumers don’t need all the science to spend their money because superfruit sales have been, well, super. According to Lara Burns, marketing consultant for SPINS, superfruit sales were $851 million from October 2007 to October 2008, with pomegranate being one of the best sellers. Burns said acai, mango, goji, magosteen and elderberry posted the strongest growth in sales. Beverages were the best sellers out of all of the types of superfruit products and sauces, yogurts and frozen fruit were the top sellers as far as food items with a superfruit ingredient.

Consumers have plenty of choices when it comes to superfruit products. “Baked goods, fillings, toppings, sauces, smoothies, frozen novelties, cereals, healthy snacks, jams, marinades, dairy, juices, beverages—and even wine,” are among the offerings cited by Jeannette Ferrary, U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council. XanGo distributes a multivitamin made with a combination of mangosteen and other whole foods, and recently launched a skin care line made with mangosteen. Erin Gipe, R&D supervisor, Northwest Naturals, said superfruits can also be found in some chewing gum.

Danali’s blueberry formula Aurora Blue has been added to yogurts and the company is discussing using it in sublingual strips similar to the Listerine Breath Strips and also as a candy for children. “Kids really love the Aurora Blue product slightly sweetened and put into pixie sticks because there is so much anthocyanin content that it makes their teeth and their tongue blue,” McKenzie said.

With all these traditional and innovative products, formulation to maintain both efficacy and taste is a major concern. McKenzie said Denali’s biggest formulation challenge is harvesting the blueberries. “We try to perform the harvest at approximately the same time every year in the same location if nature permits,” she said. “We try to have our incoming raw materials as consistent as possible in terms of times of harvest as well as the graining and quality of the fruit.” However, they can’t always have the highest quality, so they created two levels of their product. The nutraceutical grade meets stricter criteria than the consumer grade. The nutraceutical grade is more expensive and is more heavily analyzed, whereas the consumer product may be fruit that is harvested at the very beginning or end of the cultivating season or comes from a field that hasn’t been analyzed as well.

Eng said HP Ingredients is also heavily concerned with harvesting. “Since maqui berries are wild harvested, HP Ingredients pays extra attention during the collection process to quickly transport the fresh berries to cold storage within 24 hours to avoid deterioration.”

Careful, accurate formulation is a must to keep the cost of superfruit products low because the raw materials can be expensive. To keep the products efficacious, Gripe said Northwest Naturals extracts the outer shell and the skin of its superfruits in dry form and adds those extracts back in at the bottling stage. “This allows more of the nutritional properties to not be lost during processing,” she said.

The combination of ingredients customers want to include with superfruits can also be a concern. “The formulator needs to be careful with what other ingredients are used in conjunction with these superfruits because there might be some interaction that might hinder some of the health benefits,” said Tony Cantu, senior R&D technologist, itiTropicals.

Superfruit formulators are usually happy to work with their customers to make an efficacious and appealing product. Paula Morrison, senior key account technical manager for WILD, said, “We offer a turnkey approach to product development through support to customers on consumer trends, product development, commercialization and supply management.”

Kashi Sundaresan, Ph.D., scientific and quality specialist, itiTropicals, said the company sends samples of its products so customers know how it tastes. “Many of the customers know and hear about acai or mangosteen, but they don’t know how it tastes and how each fruit will complement each other,” she said.

Defining and determining the health benefits of these superfruits may be difficult for many consumers, but a good taste is easily understood. No matter what delivery form, these superfruits look like they are here to stay and will be a part of the natural products marketplace for years to come.

References on the next page...

References for "Sorting and Formulating Superfruits"

1. Papanddreou MA et al. “Effect of a polyphenol-rich wild blueberry extract on cognitive performance of mice, brain antioxidant markers and acetylcholinesterase activity.” Behav Brain Res. 2009; 198(2):352-8.

2. Taruscio TG et al. “Content and profile of flavanoid and phenolic acid compounds in conjunction with the antioxidant capacity for a variety of northwest Vaccinium berries.” J Agric Food Chem. 2004; 52(10):3169-76.

3. Kay CD and Holub BJ. “The effect of wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) consumption on postprandial serum antioxidant status in human subjects.” Br J Nutr. 2002; (4):389-98.

4. Neto CC. “Cranberry and blueberry: evidence for protective effects against cancer and vascular diseases.” Mol Nutr Food Res. 2007; (6):652-64.

5. Lau FC et al. “Inhibitory effects of blueberry extract on the production of inflammatory mediators in lipopolysaccharide-activated BV2 microglia.” J Neurosci Res. 2007; (5):1010-7.

6. Ignarro LJ  et al. “Pomegranate juice protects nitric oxide against oxidative destruction and enhances the biological actions of nitric oxide” Nitric Oxide. 2006; (2):93-102.

7. Esmaillzadeh A et al “Cholesterol-lowering effect of concentrated pomegranate juice consumption in type II diabetic patients with hyperlipidemia” Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2006; 76(3):147-51.

8. de Nigris F et al “Pomegranate juice reduces oxidized low-density lipoprotein downregulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in human coronary endothelial cells.” Nitric Oxide. 2006;15(3):259-63.

9. McFarlin BK et al. “Pomegranate seed oil consumption during a period of high-fat feeding reduces weight gain and reduces type 2 diabetes risk in CD-1 mice” Br J Nutr. 2008;16:1-6.

10. Vinson JA et al. “Cranberries and cranberry products: powerful in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo sources of antioxidants.” J Agric Food Chem. 2008;56(14):5884-91.

11. Pedersen CB et al. “Effects of blueberry and cranberry juice consumption on the plasma antioxidant capacity of healthy female volunteers” Eur J Clin Nutr. 2000 May;54(5):405-8.

12. Kähkönen MP et al. “Berry phenolics and their antioxidant activity.” J Agric Food Chem. 2001; 49(8):4076-82. 13. Griffiths P. “The role of cranberry juice in the treatment of urinary tract infections.”Br J Community Nurs. 2003;8(12):557-61. 14. Gregoire S et al. “Influence of cranberry phenolics on glucan synthesis by glucosyltransferases and Streptococcus mutans acidogenicity.” J Appl Microbiol. 2007;103(5):1960-8. 15. dos Santos GM et al. “Correlation between antioxidant activity and bioactive compounds of açaí” Arch Latinoam Nutr. 2008;58(2):187-92.16. Honzel D et al. “Comparison of chemical and cell-based antioxidant methods for evaluation of foods and natural products: generating multifaceted data by parallel testing using erythrocytes and polymorphonuclear cells.” J Agric Food Chem. 2008 ;56(18):8319-2517. Pacheco-Palencia LA et al. “Chemical composition, antioxidant properties, and thermal stability of a phytochemical enriched oil from Acai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.). J Agric Food Chem. 2008 ;56(12):4631-6. 18. Schauss AG et al. “Antioxidant capacity and other bioactivities of the freeze-dried Amazonian palm berry, Euterpe oleraceae mart. (acai).” J Agric Food Chem. 2006; 54(22):8604-10. 19. Horsfall AU et al. “Morinda citrifolia fruit juice augments insulin action in Sprague-Dawley rats with experimentally induced diabetes” Nig Q J Hosp Med. 2008;18(3):162-5.20. Akihisa T et al. “Anti-inflammatory and potential cancer chemopreventive constituents of the fruits of Morinda citrifolia (Noni).” J Nat Prod. 2007;70(5):754-7. 21. Li J et al. “Fermented Noni exudate (fNE): a mediator between immune system and anti-tumor activity.” Oncol Rep. 2008;20(6):1505-9. 22. Wang MY et al. “Hepatic protection by noni fruit juice against CCl(4)-induced chronic liver damage in female SD rats “ Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2008;63(3):141-5.23. Ma DL et al. “Evaluation of the ergogenic potential of noni juice” Phytother Res. 2007; 21(11):1100-1. 24. Rassameemasmaung S et al. “Topical application of Garcinia mangostana L. pericarp gel as an adjunct to periodontal treatment.” Complement Ther Med. 2008;16(5):262-7.25. Matsumoto K, et al “Preferential target is mitochondria in alpha-mangostin-induced apoptosis in human leukemia HL60 cells.” Bioorg Med Chem. 2004;12(22):5799-806. 26. Amagase H, Nance DM  “A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical study of the general effects of a standardized Lycium barbarum (Goji) Juice, GoChi .” J Altern Complement Med. 2008;14(4):403-12. 27. Amagase H, Sun B, Borek C. “Lycium barbarum (goji) juice improves in vivo antioxidant biomarkers in serum of healthy adults.” Nutr Res. 2009;29(1):19-25. 28. Escribano-Bailón MT et al. “Anthocyanins in berries of Maqui (Aristotelia chilensis (Mol.) Stuntz).”  Phytochem Anal. 2006;17(1):8-14.29. Araya H, Clavijo C, Herrera C. “Antioxidant capacity of fruits and vegetables cultivated in Chile “ Arch Latinoam Nutr. 2006;56(4):361-5.