ABG+® Aged Black Garlic Moves Into Gummies Space

In response to growing supplement and food trends, Pharmactive Biotech Products, S.L.U. introduces Aged Black Garlic+ (ABG+®), with a sweet, "social" flavor that is odor-free and thus suitable for functional gummies. The science-backed ingredient delivers wellness benefits and won't stimulate reflux the way fresh garlic can. It is grown from a special variety of garlic and cultivated just two hours from Pharmactive's facility; it is gently processed using green technology. This method generates very low waste and significantly reduces the environmental impact.

This advanced aged black garlic ingredient comes at a perfect time: Upcoming regulations of the EFSA and European Commission will reduce the amount of red yeast rice allowed in existing formulations to just 3mg, therefore losing EFSA-approved claims for monacolin K.

Aged black garlic has long been regarded as a culinary delicacy and integral component of the Asian diet and a tool to maintain health. Traditionally, it is produced by aging whole bulbs of a selected Spanish species of fresh garlic at high humidity and low temperatures for several weeks. ABG+ is produced using the company's proprietary ABG Cool-Tech^TM aging technique.

"Aged black garlic develops a distinctive sweet flavor during aging, while losing its typical garlic flavor and aroma due to allicin degradation," explains Daniel Gonzalez-Hedström, Ph.D., Senior Scientific Researcher for Pharmactive. "This allows it to be easily included in various formulations, easily masking with fruit or other flavors any slight garlic notes that might remain."

"Response for this ingredient has been amazing due to its demonstrated capacity to help reduce cardiovascular risk factors, per a recent clinical study," explains Gonzalez-Hedström. "Consumers are determined to get more benefits from foods instead of pills. ABG+ is a 'two-in-one' ingredient that can help achieve this goal through innovative and preferred delivery systems, such as functional gummies. It is highly suitable for either gelatin- or pectin-based formats." The company recommends blending its ingredients with fruits flavors such as blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries.

Innova Market Insights reports that over the first eight months of 2021, one-quarter of vitamin and mineral launches were gummies. Gummies have experienced double-digit growth in launches, represented by a CAGR of 16% from 2016-to 2020. Meanwhile, tablets and soft gels declined by a CAGR of 8% and 12%, respectively. According to Innova's 2019 trends survey (conducted in the UK, Spain, France, and Germany), younger generations prefer gummies and functional foods and beverages to traditional supplement formats.

ABG+'s primary active ingredient-S-allyl cysteine (SAC)-is relatively stable, allowing it to be incorporated during the mixing stage of gummy ingredients, just before setting. This ensures that each gummy will contain a precise portion of the 250mg recommended daily dose. Pharmactive Biotech offers different versions of ABG+ to perfectly adapt to specific formulations. These include different concentrations and formats: ABG+10®, ABG+10® organic, and ABG+25+®. ABG+ has EFSA-pending claims for cardiovascular health, cholesterol, immunology, and antioxidant properties. The low daily dose of 250mg per day for ABG10+ allows it to be successfully combined with various ingredients in multiple formulations, especially those ingredients that can provide complementary mechanisms of action for the desired category.

"For example, now that the dosage of red rice yeast-which helps regulate cholesterol levels-is limited and losing its approved EFSA claims, product makers can combine it with ABG+ to help maintain blood pressure levels," notes Alberto Espinel, Ph.D., head of R&D for Pharmactive. "This makes it possible to design a final product that can support the mitigation of several risk factors to help maintain cardiovascular health. The Pharmactive team currently is working on several functional food and beverage applications that will be ideal for this pure, sustainable ingredient."