Some popular raw materials such as GABA, coenzyme Q10 and Ashwagandha, in addition to their well-known functions, have also begun to have innovative research and products in some new fields, and are showing greater application potential in the functional food market.

GABA: Weight loss, Beauty, Hangover 

GABA is an important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system and is widely distributed in various organs, such as the nervous system, liver, intestine, lung, adrenal medulla, etc. It is involved in a variety of physiological regulation processes. In recent years, GABA has been widely used in sleep aids, emotional health, blood pressure lowering and other fields, but in some new fields, GABA is also opening up the market.

Lose weight and gain muscle

There are a large number of GABA-A receptors in human adipocytes. Oral administration of GABA can activate the production of regulatory T cells, and reduce related inflammatory factors in adipocytes through Treg, thereby inhibiting the growth of adipocytes and achieving fat reduction. Mice experiments found that after receiving a high-fat diet, compared with the control group, the body fat content of the mice fed with GABA was significantly reduced. It confirm that oral GABA can reduce the expression of fat transcription factors in mice, thereby inhibiting the production of body fat.

Beauty effect

Excessive activation of skin neuron cells can cause excessive tightening of skin muscles, resulting in wrinkles. GABA can inhibit the activation of neurons, reduce the stimulation of muscle cells, and the wrinkled muscles can be relaxed to achieve the effect of lightening wrinkles. GABA can also promote the proliferation of epidermal cells, accelerate barrier repair, and promote the proliferation of fibroblasts in the dermis, thereby promoting their synthesis of collagen, elastin, and HA. In addition, it can stimulate the skin cells to secrete more glutathione to help clear free radicals.

Hangover and liver protection

GABA can react with α-ketoglutarate to generate glutamic acid, inhibit the decarboxylation reaction of glutamic acid, effectively reduce blood ammonia concentration, and also promote more glutamic acid to combine with ammonia to form urea and excrete it, relieve ammonia toxicity , Improve liver function.

In addition, GABA can relieve the toxicity of alcohol to neuroblasts, maintain the phenotype of neuroblasts, and have neurotrophic effects. An experiment took alcoholics as the object, took GABA and then drank 60ml of whiskey and collected blood to measure the concentration of ethanol and acetaldehyde in the blood.The latter concentration was found to be significantly lower than that of the control group, proving that GABA has the function of reducing the toxicity of alcohol to human nerve cells.

Coenzyme Q10: Sleep aid, beauty, eye protection

Coenzyme Q10 is a fat-soluble retinoid benzoquinone compound that exists in various cells of the body and is responsible for converting nutrients into energy, which can fight free radicals, accelerate metabolism, and slow down cell aging. At present, coenzyme Q10 is only allowed to declare the two health functions of "antioxidation" and "enhancing immunity" in China, while foreign markets mainly use it for cardiovascular health. However coenzyme Q10 has also begun to be used in some niche fields.

Anti-fatigue

An observational study found that fatigue, autonomic neurocognitive symptoms in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome may be related to low blood coenzyme Q10 concentrations. Another small double-blind controlled trial found that higher doses of coenzyme Q10 helped improve fatigue and performance after physical training.

In recent years, Japanese companies have launched a large number of coenzyme Q10 functional foods for relieving fatigue, claiming that coenzyme Q10 can help improve sleep quality, reduce fatigue when getting up, and reduce short-term fatigue.

Beauty care

Coenzyme Q10 has excellent antioxidant effect. In research, it was found that it can effectively neutralize free radicals and enhance cell vitality. It has certain effects on preventing skin aging, reducing wrinkles and repairing collagen cells, and can reduce the damage caused by ultraviolet rays to the skin.

Eye protection

Coenzyme Q10 plays an important role in promoting energy production in the human body. Mitochondria in retinal cells are very sensitive to the toxic by-products produced by cell metabolism. Therefore, supplementing coenzyme Q10 can also help retinal health. In a double-blind study, visual function and macula in patients with early stage macular degeneration after combined administration of acetyl-L-carnitine (200 mg), omega-3 fatty acids (EPA 460 mg/DHA 320 mg) and coenzyme Q10 (20 mg) Change has improved.

Saliva production decreases with age and stress, and dryness in the mouth can also lead to bad breath and difficulty swallowing food, increasing unpleasant mood and possibly compromising quality of life. The Japanese market has developed a series of functional foods for saliva reduction, and the main raw material is reduced coenzyme Q10. According to one study, healthy middle-aged and elderly men and women who ingested 100 mg of reduced coenzyme Q10 per day had significantly increased saliva production compared to the placebo group.

Ashwagandha: Sports Nutrition Potential Ingredient

Ashwagandha has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. It is an adaptogenic herbal medicine that is often used to relieve stress, help sleep, and improve immunity. Because it fits well with the needs of consumers during the epidemic, welcomed by European and American markets. In addition, it has positive effects on delaying aging, balancing endocrine, cardiorespiratory and central nervous system health. Researchs on Ashwagandha is still ongoing.

A recent clinical study suggests that daily consumption of ashwagandha extract may benefit men's energy and stamina levels. The subjects consisted of healthy men between the ages of 18 and 50 who received 300 mg of Ashwagandha extract or a placebo daily for 42 days. A six-minute walk test, one-leg standing, stair climbing, and chair standing tests were performed during the experiment to measure endurance and energy levels. The results of this study showed that subjects supplemented with ashwagandha extract had significant improvements in energy and stamina levels across all tests compared to placebo

There are also some studies showing that Ashwagandha extract can increase testosterone levels in men by about 15%-17%, which is important for building and maintaining muscle. Ashwagandha extract increases muscle size and strength and helps reduce body fat.