The research report titled “Glucosamine: A Global Strategic Business Report” announced by Global Industry Analysts Inc., provides a comprehensive review of the Glucosamine market, current market trends, key growth drivers, new research findings on Glucosamine, new product introductions and launches, recent corporate initiatives, and profiles of major/niche global as well as regional market participants. The report provides annual sales estimates and projections for Glucosamine for the years 2009 through 2017 for the following geographic markets – US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of World. The study also presents historic data for the period 2003 through 2008.
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Hawaii-based Cyanotech has posted a dramatic rise in sales in the first quarter of 2012 driven by growing demand for natural astaxanthin: a potent red antioxidant that hit the headlines earlier this year following favorable coverage on Dr Oz and Oprah. Cyanotech is based in Kona, Hawaii.
The microalgae specialist, which also makes spirulina – a blue/green nutrient packed with protein, carotenoids, B-Vitamins, GLA and essential amino acids – posted a 21.8 percent rise in net income to $486,000 on revenues up 54.3 percent to $5.95m in the three months to June 30.
The sharp rise was primarily due to a surge in sales of astaxanthin (accounting for 63 percent of sales) which were up 97 percent in the quarter.
The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) in India has signed an MoU with the Hyderabad based Uniloids Biosciences. The MoU will provide Uniloids Biosciences access to technology developed at CIFT, to convert process waste to Chitin and Chitosan,considerably versatile and promising biomaterials with wide use in various industries such as pharma, food processing and cosmetics.
Also, Uniloids Biosciences will receive support from Zonal Technology Management Business Planning and Development Unit, an agribusiness unit and the Fish Processing Division and Quality Assurance and Management Division for commercializing the technology.
Cyanotech Corporation, a NASDAQ-traded leader in microalgae-based, high-value nutrition and health products, headquartered in Kona, Hawaii, has announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2011, ended March 31, 2011.
For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, revenues were $5,218,000 compared to $3,814,000 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. Gross profit was $1,798,000, with gross profit margin of 34%, compared to gross profit of $1,387,000 and gross profit margin of 36% for 4Q ’10. Net income was $795,000 or $.14 per diluted share, compared to net loss of $226,000 or $(0.04) per diluted share last fiscal year.
Fiscal Year 2011
For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, revenues were $16,827,000 compared to revenues of $15,742,000 for the year ended March 31, 2010. Gross profit was $6,341,000, with gross profit margin of 38%, compared to gross profit of $6,633,000 and gross profit margin of 42% in fiscal 2010. Net income was $1,730,000 or $.32 per diluted share, compared to $1,391,000, or $0.26 per diluted share fiscal year 2010.
For fiscal 2011, Spirulina sales accounted for 50% of total revenues and natural Astaxanthin sales for 50%. International sales were 42% of total sales.
The recent opening of the Astec Centre is expected to offer a number of opportunities for fledgling marine businesses.
Astec Aquaculture Business & Science Centre is a purpose-built resource that has been created to support the growth of the aquaculture sector. It opened its doors to businesses and researchers recently, showcasing the extensive facilities and support services that it offers.
Due to its strategic location on the Northumberland coastline at Lyne Sands, Astec is uniquely placed to pump a constant supply of near tropical temperature, flow-through seawater to its state-of-the-art aqua laboratories, which are fitted out with specialist equipment to support a broad range of commercial and research activities.
The new Astec Centre is located close by the Dove Marine Laboratory at Newcastle University, considered a key centre for Newcastle University’s School of Marine Science and Technology, which is leading research into areas such as algae biofuels. However, the prospect of state-of-the-art facilities nearby could help experts refine and expand discoveries further.
Dove Marine Laboratory director Professor Grant Burgess said: “We have several early-stage projects which we may be able to commercialise over the next 12 months. These involve growing and harvesting marine microalgae to make useful products such as omega 3 oils. Astec offers the expertise, historical track record and passion of the people involved to ensure this project is a success.”
The focus at the centre is on application of marine science to building businesses and creating jobs. This complements and builds on current marine biotechnology programmes at the Dove and will considerably strengthen the region in this growth area.
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Daily doses of omega-3s of at least 250 milligrams are required to reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death and other heart conditions, says a new review and meta-analysis.
According to findings published in the British Journal of Nutrition, at least 250 mg of the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (LCFA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), was associated with a 35 percent reduction in the risk of sudden cardiac death.
In addition, such doses were associated with a ‘near-significant’ 17 percent decrease in the risk of ‘total fatal coronary events’, according to a team of researchers from academia and industry.
Celox, a flaked form of the clotting agent chitosan, is revolutionizing how military and medical personnel deal with bleeds, from the smallest scrapes to full-blown arterial fire hoses. Celox is easy to use — you just pour it on an open wound and apply pressure — and both safer and faster-acting than similar products. The best bit, though, is that the active ingredient, chitosan, is extracted from the shells of crabs and shrimp.
Chitosan is a polysaccharide — a complex carbohydrate, like starch — that is extracted from chitin, the structural component of shrimp and crab exoskeletons. Chitosan is water soluble, bioadhesive, biodegradable, and biocompatible. In its base state, chitosan is an excellent clotting (hemostatic) agent, but the form used in Celox has been “reacted” to create an enhanced and purified product. Celox, in short, is ideal for augmenting the human body’s innate ability to clot wounds.
The real magic of Celox is that it doesn’t actually form blood clots, which would be dangerous; rather, the act mixing blood into Celox activates it, turning it into an artificial, gel-like clot. This kind of clot is incredibly effective at staunching blood flow, with 100% of swine test subjects surviving a cut femoral artery. If all that wasn’t awesome enough, Celox is incredibly fast-acting — it can clot blood in 30 seconds, where normal blood takes 800 seconds — and it even works with blood that has been thinned by warfarin or harparin, or in hypothermic conditions.
GC Rieber Oils recently announced that it will sell its fish oil products under the brand name VivoMega™. A recent major initiative by the company to build a new factory that will produce high quality fish oil concentrates of Omega-3 has led to new markets opening up, and thus the company’s desire to be more marketing-driven. Once only selling traditional fish oils, GC Rieber now has become a total supplier, and has therefore decided to position itself by selling all their products under the brand name VivoMega™
VivoMega™ will be launched on www.vivomega.com.
Data from 11 trials including 720 people with doses of omega-3 ranging from 0.2 to 6 grams per day concluded that supplementation with omega-3s was associated with lower blood levels of homocysteine.
“Our systematic review provides, to our knowledge, the most comprehensive assessment to date of the effects of omega-3 PUFAs on plasma homocysteine,” wrote the researchers in Nutrition.
Researchers from China, Taiwan, and Australia added that a more comprehensive analysis would benefit from additional rigorous and long term trials. They also noted that such trials should also seek to measure whether the reduction in homocysteine levels actually produces an important health effect, such as a reduction in heart disease.
Daily supplements containing astaxanthin, the pink pigment that gives salmon its color, may boost the body’s antioxidants defenses in obese people, says a new study from South Korea.
Researchers from Seoul National University report that daily doses of 5 or 20 milligrams of astaxanthin for three weeks were associated with increases in levels of the body’s own antioxidant defenses, as well as decreases in levels of oxidative species.
“Although these data show that astaxanthin is protective against obesity‐induced oxidative stress, a longer term study with a larger sample size should be conducted to establish whether astaxanthin supplementation can consistently and permanently reduce oxidative stress levels,” wrote the researchers in Phytotherapy Research.
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