With 20% of the population hitting 65 years of age by 2030, twice the current number of people aged 65, the search for the fountain of youth is becoming a national pastime. As a society, we are practicing yoga, switching to trendy lifestyle diets, and trying alternative therapies, only to find we have come full-circle. Scientists have re-discovered and confirmed mom's good advice about the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables—with the spotlight on antioxidants. The rainbow of plant pigments that make our diets so colorful are also the same compounds that have been implicated in forestalling aging and giving functionality to a whole new era of food ingredients and extracts.

Active people of all ages are beginning to be concerned about oxidation. Oxidative stress occurs in the body for more reasons than just smoking, emotional stress, or a generally unhealthy lifestyle. It also occurs as a result of exercise and exposure to sunshine and, if left unchecked by antioxidants, can lead to cardiovascular disease, arteriosclerosis, numerous types of cancers and Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

Natural Foods to the Rescue

Plantextrakt, part of the Nature Network of companies, offers complete antioxidant systems and ingredients for beverage formulations focused at balancing free radicals. With a group of companies that provide a foundation for producing high quality extracts, from the seed to the extract, Plantextrakt focuses on green teas, decaffeinated and instant teas, and fruit and herbal beverage extracts. The company offers customers complete antioxidant based beverage systems to help with product concepts, formulation challenges, or as turnkey solutions.

The soft-drink systems, called OXBLOXX Soft Drinks, include such delicious and refreshing blends as OXBLOXX “Raspberry” which combines the full flavor of raspberry juice with the aromatic character of a selection of herbal extracts (raspberry juice, rooibos extract, hibiscus extract, mate leaves extract, and green tea extract). The OXBLOXX Green Tea systems are based on a green tea that is decaffeinated by a special natural CO2 extraction process that retains all the health benefits of green tea. Plantextrakt also offers other functional beverage systems, such as Relax (a relaxing green tea-based soft drink with functional extracts), and Brain (for better blood circulation and concentration ability).

The formulations also are meant as ideas for other areas of industry, such as dairy products (yogurts or ice creams); fruit-based products (fruit-based spreads or toppings); or even confectionery products (herbal/fruit candies).

Plantextrakt is a full-service company that offers technical support from formulation to marketing concepts, and marketing claims. The antioxidant claims in Plantextrakt products are supported by the company's own trials, those at universities, and also by secondary research.

For more information:
Andrea Schulte/public relation manager
at +49 9135 729 383
Andrea.Schulte@mbms.de, www.mb-holding.de
MB Managementservice GmbH & Co. KG Write in 31