Nutri Pharmaceuticals Research Inc. (NPRI), a leading developer and marketer of powdered nutritional ingredients, announced that it has entered into a product development and supply partnership with Aloecorp Inc., a leading supplier of bioactive aloe vera raw materials, for the use of an aloe vera crystal flake produced through a proprietary processing technology by Aloecorp. Aloecorp will supply NPRI with a dried aloe vera crystal flake for use as a carrier matrix with NPRI’s O2P oil-to-powder conversion process. In addition, both firms will work together on developing powdered oil product concepts using the aloe vera crystal flake.
“Use of the aloe vera crystal flake as a carrier for our powders adds a unique, bioactive ingredient to our existing powders,” said NPRI president, Godfrey Yew, in a press statement. Recent clinical studies reportedly have shown that use of aloe vera improves the bioavailability of certain nutrients such as vitamin C and vitamin E by over 200%. According to Yew, using the oil-to-powder technology and the aloe vera crystal flake will enable food marketers and nutraceutical manufacturers to utilize the DHA, GLA, EPA and antioxidant properties found in many oils in a more production-friendly and flexible dry powder form.
Nutri Pharmaceuticals Research Inc. provides a range of powdered oils for functional food, food supplement, cosmetic, pet food and animal feed applications. Aloecorp Inc. and sister company Unigen Pharmaceuticals Inc. are subsidiaries of Univera Inc. Unigen and Aloecorp each focus on identifying and studying the unique ingredients of medicinal botanicals and then formulating proprietary raw materials for use in cosmeceutical, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products.
