Formulation and validation of Reducose as a functional food ingredient to reduce risk of metabolic disorders

Phynova is a UK SME applying cutting-edge technology to develop functional food ingredients using medicinal plants. Phynova has developed Reducose, a water extract of white mulberry leaves, which blocks alpha-glucosidase in the small intestine, allowing carbohydrates to pass through undigested. Clinical trials have proven that Reducose lowers blood glucose (BG) after eating foods containing sugars and other carbohydrates, without side-effects. Reducose lowers the glycaemic index (GI) of sugar, starch, and bread to low GI levels (i.e. <55).

The challenge in this project is to reformulate Reducose into "ReducosePlus" so it can be incorporated straight into food manufacturers' product lines (bread, pasta, ready meals, convenience foods) without affecting the flavour, physical properties of the food, including the overall weight (active dose 250mg). ReducosePlus has the potential to transform the food industry's response to the carbohydrate problem, and significantly improve the ability of manufacturers to offer low GI foods/meals as it removes the need for extensive reformulation involved in reducing carbohydrate content.