Mythocondro®, the Non-Animal Chondroitin Sulfate of fermentation origin is finalist at NutraIngredients Awards 2017 in the Healthy Ageing category.
The pioneering vegetarian alternative confirms to be in the spotlight of the nutrition industry gaining another stage of great depth and significance. The NutraIngredients Awards are the celebration of the newness, cutting edge research and excellence of the year and takes place alongside the Vitafoods Exhibition, the leading nutraceutical event in the world. Being the finalist underlines the recognition of the ambitious target that Mythocondro® has reached to provide an animal-free long-awaited Chondroitin Sulfate.
The Awards ceremony will take place on May 10th at the Starling Hotel in Geneva… Let’s keep your fingers crossed with us!
Healthy Ageing, the hot and growing field
Healthy Ageing is a challenge and an opportunity at the same time. Globally, the number of older persons is growing faster than the numbers of people in any other age group. Between 2015 and 2030, the number of people in the world aged 60 years or over is projected to grow by 56 per cent, from 901 million to 1.4 billion, and by 2050, the global population of older persons is projected to more than double its size in 2015, reaching nearly 2.1 billion. (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2015). World Population Ageing 2015 (ST/ESA/SER.A/390).
The definition of “healthy ageing” has been consolidated by the 1st World Health Organisation (WHO) global report devoted to ageing (2015): a ‘‘process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables well-being in older age’’. It is more than just the absence of disease; it is related to fighting against risk factors, for maintaining the functionality ability that enables well-being in older age. (Michel, J.-P. et al., European Geriatric Medicine , Volume 7 , Issue 4 , 298-305)
A major driver of the chondroitin sulfate market is the incidence of degenerative joint disease, also known as osteoarthritis. The disease commonly impacts joints which have been continually stressed, especially the knees, hips, fingers, and lower spine, leading to pain and loss of function. In the US, this figure reaches 19 million. Furthermore, according to the WHO, osteoarthritis will become the fourth most common cause of disability in the world by 2020 because of the progressive ageing of the population. (Woolf, A. and B. Pfleger, Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2003. 81: p. 646-656)
Chondroitin sulfate is safe and efficacious for improving pain and functional capacity in people with osteoarthritis. The clinical benefits of CS have been established by a large number of human trials which allows long term administration for OA and joint health.
Nowadays the global industrial production of chondroitin sulfate (CS) has been based on uses of animal tissue sources as raw material, derived from different species of animals (pig, bovine, avarian and fish) including shark cartilage. Recent meta-analysis has demonstrated variable effects on osteoarthritis symptoms, yielding conflicting results mainly due to the high variability and poor quality of products used depending on the animal source. (McAlindon TE et al., JAMA 2000; 283: 1469–1475)
The challenge that Mythocondro® has won and that earned the nomination for the Awards is to provide a vegetarian alternative of chondroitin sulfate, free from the long-standing acknowledged problem of poor quality and potential safety issues of animal-derived CS, with the significant and higher effectiveness in joint disease.
Innovation of Mythocondro® point-by-point
- Produced by a natural and proprietary fermentation process
- Very low protein content unlike animal-CS
- Homogeneous structure similar to human chondroitin found in synovial fluid
- A once-a-day dosage alternative to larger CS pills that need to be taken 2 times a day
- High purity and constant quality profile guaranteed by tightly controlled, reliable and reproducible process
- A demonstrated biological activity and established safety profile with published clinical trials
- Low molecular weight and enhanced bioavailability
- Extensive Intellectual Property
- Vegetarian CS alternative for people with dietary and religious restrictions
- Easy handling and storage, ideally suited for a broad range of products including: capsules and soft-gels for dietary supplements, conventional foods such as beverages and beverage bases, milk and milk products and chewing gum
