Florida Food Products’ expanded health and wellness portfolio includes its natural L-theanine. Derived from the leaves of green tea, L-theanine is an amino acid associated with multiple health benefits, from improved focus and sleep1 to decreased blood pressure and promoted relaxation. FFP’s natural L-theanine is an ideal ingredient solution for a wide range of health and wellness applications including beverages, foods, supplements, nutraceuticals, and more.

According to Mintel’s US, 2023 Functional Ingredients in Food & Drink report, 85% of respondents currently consume food or beverage products that contain functional ingredients, with the majority eating or drinking two or more functional ingredients per day. Additionally, half of consumers look for both physical and emotional support from food and beverage purchases revealing a solid customer base for innovative new products in the functional food and beverage market.

“As more people seek ways to improve health and wellness, it is a great time for manufacturers to incorporate functional ingredients such as L-theanine to fulfill consumers’ desired health benefits,” said Jenna Callahan, Category Manager, FFP. “Our high-potency natural L-theanine is sourced directly from green tea leaves and standardized to 98% for effectiveness that can be used across a wide range of applications. Many of today’s consumers report high levels of anxiety and are looking for ways to alleviate daily stress. L-theanine can be an ideal addition to formulations as it is associated with multiple health benefits including reduced mental fatigue and stress, decreased blood pressure, as well as improved focus and sleep. L-theanine can also be paired with caffeine to act as a cognitive ingredient to increase alertness while smoothing out the jitters and anxiety that consumers may typically experience with caffeine.”

FFP’s natural L-theanine is reliably produced in the U.S. Its effects and safety are acknowledged by the FDA. Various benefits backed by multiple clinical studies include:

• Alpha wave production—Increase in alpha waves in the brain across a variety of study groups2,3,4
• Relaxation—Increased relaxation under resting conditions5 and a reduction in heart rate and salivary immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) in response to an acute stress task6
• Sleep Quality—Improved sleep quality in ADHD7 and schizophrenic8 patients
• Learning Ability—Enhanced attention9, reaction time10,11, working memory9, and accuracy10,11
• Cognition—Enhanced tonic apportionment of attentional resources to visuospatial attentional deployment12, improved cognitive performance13, subjective alertness13, and sensorimotor gating14
• Immunity—Increase in neutrophil count and a reduction in lymphocyte count15, and decreases the incidence of cold and flu symptoms through enhancement of certain lymphocyte functions16,17

“Consumers are looking for foods, beverages, supplements — and even cosmetics — that offer benefits to enhance wellbeing, whether it be improving sleep, stress, immunity, or mood,” added Callahan. “FFP can address these demands with our portfolio of functional ingredients crafted from the compounds found inherently in nature. Our experts listen to the goals and challenges of our customers to identify the best solutions that fit their needs. With the expertise and high-quality ingredients from FFP, we help meet the demands of today’s consumers and win sales in a competitive market.”

Please visit https://floridafood.com/human-nutrition/ to learn more about their portfolio of high-potency, natural ingredients. Nimble and knowledgeable, FFP experts will get you to the competitive health and wellness market ahead of the rest.

References:
1. Williams, J., Kellett, J., Roach, P., McKune, A., Mellor, D., Thomas, J., & Naumovski, N. (2016). l-Theanine as a Functional Food Additive: Its Role in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Bevera 1. Williams, J., Kellett, J., Roach, P., McKune, A., Mellor, D., Thomas, J., & Naumovski, N. (2016). l-Theanine as a Functional Food Additive: Its Role in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Beverages, 2(2), 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages2020013

2. Juneja, R.; Djong-Chi, C.; Tsutomu, O.; Yukiko, N.; Hidehiko, Y. L-theanine—A unique amino acid of green tea and its relaxation effect in humans. Trends Food Sci. Technol. 1999, 10, 199–204.ges, 2(2), 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages2020013

3. Nobre, A. C., Rao, A., & Owen, G. N. (2008). L-theanine, a natural constituent in tea, and its effect on mental state. Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition, 17 Suppl 1, 167–168.

4. Kobayashi, K.; Nagato, Y.; Aoi, N.; Juneja, L.; Kim, M.; Yamamoto, T. Effects of L-theanine on the release of a-brain waves in human volunteers. Nippon Nogei Kagakukaishi 1998, 72, 153–157.

5. Lu, K.; Gray, M.A.; Oliver, C.; Liley, D.T.; Harrison, B.J.; Bartholomeusz, C.F.; Phan, K.; Nathan, J. The acute effects of L-theanine in comparison with alprazolam on anticipatory anxiety in humans. Human Psychopharmacol. Clin. Exp. 2004, 19, 457–465.

6. Kimura, K.; Ozeki, M.; Juneja, L.R.; Ohira, H. L-Theanine reduces psychological and physiological stress responses. Biol. Psychol. 2007, 74, 39–45.

7. Lyon, M.R.; Kapoor, M.P.; Juneja, L.R. The effects of L-theanine (suntheanine(r)) on objective sleep quality in boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Altern. Med. Rev. 2011, 16, 348–354.

8. Ota, M.; Wakabayashi, C.; Sato, N.; Hori, H.; Hattori, K.; Teraishi, T.; Ozawa, H.; Okubo, T.; Kunugi, H. Effect of L-theanine on glutamatergic function in patients with schizophrenia. Acta Neuropsychiatr. 2015, 27, 291–296.

9. Einöther, S.J.L.; Martens, V.E.G.; Rycroft, J.A.; De Bruin, A. L-Theanine and caffeine improve task switching but not intersensory attention or subjective alertness. Appetite 2010, 54, 406–409.

10. Haskell, C.F.; Kennedy, D.O.; Milne, A.L.; Wesnes, K.A.; Scholey, A.B. The effects of l-theanine, caffeine and their combination on cognition and mood. Biol. Psychol. 2008, 77, 113–122.

11. Owen, G.N.; Parnell, H.; De Bruin, E.A.; Rycroft, J.A. The combined effects of L-theanine and caffeine on cognitive performance and mood. Nutr. Neurosci. 2008, 11, 193–198.

12. Kelly, S.P.; Gomez-Ramirez, M.; Montesi, J.L.; Foxe, J.J. L-Theanine and caffeine in combination affect human cognition as evidenced by oscillatory alpha-band activity and attention task performance. J. Nutr. 2008, 138, 1572s–1577s.

13. Giesbrecht, T.; Rycroft, J.A.; Rowson, M.J.; De Bruin, E.A. The combination of L-theanine and caffeine improves cognitive performance and increases subjective alertness. Nutr. Neurosci. 2010, 13, 283–290.

14. Ota, M.; Wakabayashi, C.; Matsuo, J.; Kinoshita, Y.; Hori, H.; Hattori, K.; Sasayama, D.; Teraishi, T.; Obu, S.; Ozawa, H.; et al. Effect of L-theanine on sensorimotor gating in healthy human subjects. Psychiatry Clin. Neurosci. 2014, 68, 337–343.

15. Murakami, S.; Kurihara, S.; Titchenal, C.A.; Ohtani, M. Suppression of exercise-induced neutrophilia and lymphopenia in athletes by cystine/theanine intake: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J. Int. Soc. Sports Nutri. 2010, 7, 23.

16. Bukowski, J.F.; Percival, S. L-Theanine intervention enhances human gammadelta T lymphocyte function. Nutr. Rev. 2008, 66, 96–102.

17. Kurihara, S.; Hiraoka, T.; Akutsu, M.; Sukegawa, E.; Bannai, M.; Shibahara, S. Effects of (L)-cystine and (L)-theanine supplementation on the common cold: A randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial. J. Amino Acids 2010, 2010, 307475.

About FFP 
Florida Food Products, Inc. (FFP) has offered a portfolio of healthy, naturally sourced plant-based food and beverage ingredient solutions for over 65 years. Based in Eustis, Florida, FFP has extensive manufacturing capabilities including extraction, fermentation, drying, and blending technologies, with vegetable juice concentrate and functional food ingredient production facilities in Florida, flavor creation and production in Melville, NY and Marlton, NJ and premium brewed tea, coffee, botanicals, and natural energy products in John’s Creek, GA and Eugene, OR. Today, FFP is committed to providing innovative clean-label solutions that naturally provide exceptional food protection, flavor, color, texture, and yield improvement for a variety of applications, including processed and cured meat, beverages, plant-based, health and wellness, culinary, and pet nutrition.

www.floridafood.com