Scientific paper by NutriLeads shows that its plant-based RG-I food ingredients support immune function and modulate the microbiota

  • First scientific data showing immune supportive properties of plant-based RG-I derived from bell pepper and carrot

  • Study published in the “Nutrition, Immunity and Viral infection” special issue of the peer-reviewed journal, Nutrients

  • Immune health is a top priority for today’s consumers with six in ten people looking for functional foods and beverages to support their immunity [1]

25 March 2021, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Dutch health ingredients innovator, NutriLeads, announces the first peer-reviewed publication of data proving the immune modulating properties of its proprietary pectin-derived rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) polysaccharides in the journal Nutrients.[2]

RG-I are natural, plant-derived compounds (polysaccharides), that interact with the gut bacteria (microbiota) and the host innate immune system. In selected traditional plant extracts, such pectic polysaccharides have previously been shown to have immunostimulatory effects. However, these traditional remedies are often expensive, derived from non-renewable sources, and could face regulatory challenges.

In this recent publication, NutriLeads shows that RG-I can be extracted from affordable and renewable crops, namely carrots and bell peppers, and even obtained from side streams of crop processing, allowing for sustainable and scalable production. RG-I from both carrot and bell pepper showed immune stimulating and microbiota modulating activity in vitro. Furthermore, bell pepper RG-I was shown to enhance innate immune responsiveness in a proof-of-concept trial in humans.

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Please read scientific paper here.