Named after the razor sharp epic Indian character Arjuna, the archer, the Arjuna ingredients plant is frequently first to market with innovative nutraceuticals.
It was first to introduce a smoke flavour oil in the 1990s followed by horseradish oil, then oils for ginger and other spices. Today at the head office it has 14 acres of coconut palms as well as amla, the yellow Indian gooseberry.
Its big focus is “natural” and this is gaining attention worldwide – for instance its mustard oil is ten times more expensive than the synthetic version. The company was also the first to pick up on the weight loss trend with garcinia cambogia made from the Malabar tamarind back in 1994-5.
Arjuna began producing omega-3 fatty acid from sardine oil in 2000 and has a plant almost complete and able to produce it at 90% purity – and is already producing 3,000 metric tons a year.
The curcumin (turmeric) explosion
Advanced testing equipment including an Agilent head space temporiser ensures the company’s curcumin (derived from the yellow spice turmeric) is the most bioavailable in the world, meaning it spends more time in the blood and so has a greater effect. Arjuna has a new division for developing natural food colour to be revealed at Hi Europe, initially using turmeric and paprika for orange and yellow colours in the bakery sector.
Turmeric is a natural antioxidant and can be used to increase the shelf-life of bread from three days to ten – so another new division is to be called X-tend involving food and preservation.
This ancient Indian spice is used in every day cooking in India but in this highly concentrated format it has been shown in studies to have anti-ageing properties in terms of preventing rheumatoid and osteoarthritis and importantly has been reported in a number of clinical studies to prevent Alzheimer’s. It is available in a ready-to-drink powder mix and effervescent tablets.
The Indian gooseberry has been shown to have some health benefits.
The alma – or Indian gooseberry – used in pickle has been shown in recent trials to have heart health benefits, reducing LDL and triglycerides. A new study involving 120 people taking it over six months is about to start and there are discussions over a similar study with CSIRO in France.
Ayurvedic medicine is long-trusted in India, as are ingredients such as red spinach and amla fruit (the wild variant of this yellow berry is collected by local tribes and used by Arjuna for its concentrated qualities). 150 metric tons of amla are used to create amla juice powder – it has just been granted a US patent with results of a clinical study to be released at Hi Europe later this year.
What’s more, due to its primarily rice-based diet, India has a relatively high prevalence of diabetes. Arjuna is developing products based on the leaves of the costus plant, which has been used by natives for years for natural insulin reduction without hypoglycaemia. This extract is apparently able to regenerate pancreatic islets.
Medicine has historically been derived from natural plants and although there is so much more to discover it seems we are making some progress.
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