PLT Health Solutions has launched a water-soluble form of its Rhodiolife Rhodiola rosea ingredient in North America, in partnership with Spanish ingredient supplier Nektium Pharma.
 
This widely expands the types of consumer products into which the ingredient can be formulated, tapping into demands for more convenient or novel delivery systems. The companies used a suite of applications and shelf life testing in beverages to confirm that the ingredient wouldn’t impact the color or flavor of formulations and that the active components of the adaptogen would remain stable through processing and consumer use.
 
“Beverage formulation is challenging. Nektium Pharma’s studies with Rhodiolife and beverage formulations show that it meets industry standards for performance and processing and that the color, flavor, and bioactives content are shelf-stable,” said Devin Stagg, chief operating officer for PLT Health Solutions. “This means we can now deliver the benefits of Rhodiolife in beverages and other delivery systems. The real innovation of this new water-soluble Rhodiolife is that it allows a premium Rhodiola rosea containing the rosavins and salidroside found in the actual plant root to be formulated into challenging beverage systems easily and consistently. This will allow faster and more cost-effective product development and ultimately a better consumer experience.”
 
The studies conducted by Nektium Pharma used a low pH orange flavored formulation. Over the study period, it was confirmed that the introduction of Rhodiolife did not affect the Brix (measure of how much solid is dissolved into liquid) or pH of the orange beverage. There was no change to either flavor or color profile. It was also observed that there was no change to the rosavins content.
 
Previous studies have confirmed that the herb’s two main bioactive components, rosavins and salidroside, are highly resistant to thermal degradation in both powder and aqueous solutions. Pasteurization also didn’t have any effect on the sensory or physical properties of the beverage.
 
Setting Quality Standards
 
Nektium’s quality assurance team conducts multiple identity tests on every batch of Rhodiolife including macroscopic and sensorial analysis, the development of chromatographic profiles, and DNA barcode analysis to ensure the authenticity of the raw material. An extraction process unlocks the active ingredients while preserving the natural phytochemical profile of the root. The material is then standardized to precise concentrations of bioactive compounds. The resulting high-performance liquid chromatography fingerprint of the extract is consistent from batch-to-batch and matches that of the native root.
 
“Only Rhodiolife’s unique fingerprint composition consistently provides the spectrum of compounds found in the root of the plant that are responsible for its biological activity, including rosavin, rosarin, rosin, and salidroside. With Rhodiolife, not only is the percentage of primary actives the same as the root, but so is the ratio of actives. This is not the case with many other Rhodiola rosea ingredients on the market,” Stagg said.
 
“Successful beverage formulations require very special performance parameters from their ingredients,” said Deborah Thoma, marketing manager of Nektium Pharma. “Our testing has shown we have accomplished this task. We feel that this new form of Rhodiolife can deliver adaptogen benefits into virtually any beverage product, and also into foods that feature the use of aqueous phase production.”