CreAgri Granted Hydroxytyrosol Patent

HAYWARD, Calif.CreAgri Inc.®, a functional ingredient and dietary supplement manufacturer, was granted a fundamental patent on the manufacturing of hydroxytyrosol from the juice of olives. Officially issued on May 11, 2010, the patent broadly covers methods for hydroxytyrosol production, isolation and formulation.
Founded by Crea in 1998, CreAgri developed a proprietary two-step, sustainable manufacturing process called Integrale. This process first removes the pits from the pulp of organic olives and separates the polyphenolic-rich water from extra virgin olive oil. Next, it processes the olive juice with citric acid (1 percent) to obtain the highest concentration of hydroxytyrosol and protect against phenolic oxidation, polymerization and microbial fermentation.
The Integrale process recovers the most important polyphenol antioxidants directly from the juice (vegetation water) of the olives. Nearly 50 percent of the olives volume consists of olive juice, more than double that of the olive oil, and it produces as much as 300 times the polyphenols of even the best extra virgin olive oil.