Avestha rolls out bioactive to control blood sugar

Avesthagen, Bangalore-based integrated systems biology platform company, has launched its first clinically-validated bioactive "" Teestar. The bioactive is aimed at controlling blood sugar. The company has brought out its product as a dietary supplements and in crackers (biscuit) form.

Announcing this on Wednesday, Villoo Morawala Patell, founder, chairperson and managing director of Avesthagen, said, "The company has used two of its patented technologies to develop Teestar "" ADEPT, a database that brings together traditional medicine and modern systems biology, created under World Bank-funded (SPREAD project); and MetaGrid "" an algorithm that enables comprehensive constituent profiling of plant extracts and thereby helps maintain batch-to-batch reproducibility of the bioactive."

 

"Teestar is the first of the seven bioactives and will be followed by more which are in the pipeline. Our goal is to incorporate tasty, life-enhancing natural ingredients into our lifestyle," she added.

The research and development (R&D) for Teestar was carried out on the lines of pharmaceutical actives, wherein the bioactivity and safety are proven at different levels. This was prepared from a single Indian plant mentioned in Ayurveda using the firm's technologies.

Teestar administration reduced the glycemic load of the food compared to the control both in pre-clinical and clinical studies carried out by independent clinical research organisations "" INTOX, Pune and Manipal AcuNova in Bangalore, wherein no adverse reactions were noticed during the studies. It also normalised the rise in the blood-glucose levels by slowing the carbohydrate breakdown process.

During clinical trials, Teestar has been shown to bring about a significant reduction in the blood glucose levels when compared to a control group. It also provided viscosity to the texture of the diet and also helped with weight management, said Villoo Morawala Patell.

"The BioNutritional programme at Avesthagen is working actively on diabetes and will bring to market shortly a number of clinically-proven product offerings which address different aspects of the life-threatening disorders. Teestar is, in this respect, the front-runner in the Avesthagen functional food portfolio for diabetes," said Villoo Morawala-Patell.

Speaking on the marketing strategy for Teestar, she said, "We plan to bring it under our subsidiary "" Avesta Good Earth Foods Pvt Ltd (AGEF). The first product is to hit the shelves by mid-May and is priced at Rs 32 for 100 gm."

According to Sandeep Dang, CEO, AGEF, "With Teestar, we now have two product lines "" healthy consumer foods and functional food. Under health foods, we have a range of breakfast cereals, cereal bars and biscuits. With Teestar we are launching Whole Wheat Crackers. This makes an entry into the functional food space, a market it will look to occupy with a number of product offerings emanating from the BioNutritional programme at Avesthagen."