FutureCeuticals announced the issuance of a patent in Japan covering the production of products from whole coffee fruit or portions thereof, including coffee fruit powders, extracts and concentrates. The patent also covers use of coffee fruit products as ingredients in food and beverage and dietary supplement products. 

The patent extends the company’s global stable of intellectual property covering the processing and safe use of the coffee fruit.

“Because the fruit of the coffee plant (coffee cherries) tends to rapidly spoil following harvest, it had historically been overlooked for food and beverage applications as unfit for human consumption,” says John Hunter, executive vice president of FutureCeuticals. “Our team developed methods, now patented throughout the world, for preserving and processing the fruit prior to spoiling. These latest patents, together with our developing body of clinical research on the unique health benefits of the whole coffee fruit, further cement our standing as the only choice for safe, functional, potent, and protected coffee fruit products. Our coffee fruit IP creates a unique platform for the development of truly groundbreaking products and partnerships.”

The company’s line of coffee fruit products is marketed worldwide under the Coffeeberry® brand name. In one prominent example, Coffeeberry brand coffee fruit from Kona, Hawaii, is the active ingredient in KonaRed, a line of juices made from the red ripe fruit of world famous Kona coffee.

FutureCeuticals offers a variety of powders and extracts of the coffee fruit, including the whole fruit powder, Coffeeberry® Energy 70% Caffeine, Coffeeberry® for Cosmetics, and NeuroFactor™, an extract of the whole coffee fruit that has been shown in two published studies to increase serum levels of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in humans.

BDNF is a protein active in the brain and central and peripheral nervous systems with a critical role in neuron development, maintenance, and repair and in protecting against neurodegeneration. A substantial body of recent research, including work recently published in JAMA, has pointed to the critical role of healthy serum levels of BDNF for promoting and maintaining cognitive health and function.

— Futureceuticals, www.coffeeberry.com