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2-May-2006
Valensa International announced that it has introduced a new advanced form of policosanol for the nutraceuticals market. Called Nanocosanol™, this new ingredient formulation takes advantage of three key technology strengths of the Valensa organization – extraction, delivery and stabilization – to create the most scientifically advanced form of policosanol available to the market today. This patent-pending nanotechnology-based product promises a higher level of biofunctionality compared to existing policosanol supplements for promoting a heart-healthy lipid balance. Nanocosanol will be available both in bulk packaging and in 500 mg softgels containing 15 mg policosanols nanodispersed in a proprietary mixture of cranberry seed and amaranth oils. Dr. Rudi Moerck will be giving a presentation discussing the advances available at Nanocosanol at Vitafoods 2006 in Geneva, where the product will be on display for the first time.

"Our review of the existing literature and clinical trial data of policosanols indicated to us that policosanols, which are typically waxy globular material, could significantly benefit from nanodispersion technology to increase its performance in promoting a heart-healthy lipid balance," said. Dr. Rudi E. Moerck, President of Valensa. "Traditional policosanol extracts are characterized as being globular, waxy mixtures with a consistency that has a tendency to resist dispersion in the digestive tract and hence displays limited biofunctionality. These traditional policosanol extracts are quite different from the naturally occurring physical forms of policosanol we see in materials like rice bran or sugar cane," he said. "We applied our ideas and expertise in nanotechnology to create a dispersion of the fatty alcohols that closely mimics dispersions found in nature. And finally, we developed a proprietary all-natural stabilization system to ensure extended shelf life and continuing biofunctionality of the policosanol nanodispersion. The three technologies taken together are what make Nanocosanol the most advanced policosanol product on the market," he added.

A state-of-the-art policosanol formulation
The policosanols (fatty alcohols) used in Nanocosanol are extracted from botanical sources including rice bran and sugar cane employing Valensa’s DeepExtract™ ultrahigh pressure supercritical carbon dioxide technology and feature optimized ratios of octacosanol, tricosanol and hexacosanol. No alcohol or solvents are used in this 100% natural extraction process. The fatty alcohols are then nanodispersed in omega-3 and omega-6 botanical derived extracts including extracts of cranberry seed and amaranth. The proprietary botanically-derived stabilization system – called the O2B peroxidation blocker – ensures stability of the Nanocosanol formulation and provides added beneficial antioxidants.

Policosanols are known to promote blood lipid health and it has been suggested in numerous clinical trials that these fatty alcohols can lead to lower cholesterol levels. Nanocosanol, the only nanodispersion of policosanols available today, closely mimics the dispersion of these fatty alcohols in nature and therefore can provide far better biofunctionality compared to traditional globular waxy policosanol extracts