Anoxymer GmbH

Focus

Health-giving plant substances for functional food and cosmeceuticals

Company Profile

Anoxymer was founded at the end of 2000 and was headquartered at the Kompetenzzentrum für nachwachsende Rohstoffe (Competence Centre for Sustainable Raw Materials) in Straubing (Bavaria) until the end of 2005.

Based in the Lifescience Center Esslingen since the start of 2006, the company specialises in research and development into new and innovative health ingredients from herbs, vegetables and fruits and uses these to produce standardised, highly water-soluble plant extracts with proven health benefits. Anoxymer markets these extracts as ingredients for foods (functional foods) and cosmetics (cosmeceuticals), and in the form of capsules/tablets as dietary supplements.

Screening for bioactive substances that have a positive effect on health has already led to the discovery of new substance classes of oligosaccharides of plant origin exhibiting different types of physiological activity (Anoxymins®). In addition to their antioxidant character (radical scavenging activity), the health-giving properties of individual secondary plant substances lie in their immune-strengthening antiangiogenic and/or anti-inflammatory activity. In addition to the isolation of bioactive substances accompanying the biotest, and their biological and chemical standardisation, the company’s proprietary and interlinked in-vitro and in-vivo test systems (CAM assays) not only enable Anoxymer to demonstrate the effectiveness of the substances, but also to identify potential toxicities and side-effects in good time.

Health-giving extracts (Planox®) from various plants for anti-ageing and joint health have already been developed. The company has worked with cooperation partners from the foodstuffs and cosmetics industries to adapt these to their specific technological requirements for use in various foodstuffs or cosmetic products. Anoxymer also has further bioactive natural substances for digestion, diabetes and skincare in its product pipeline.

Anoxymer enables its customers to explore new pricing and design opportunities through added-value products. The scientifically proven data relating to the functional and health properties of the standardised plant extracts and enriched foodstuffs is corroborated by test studies so that, in the future, there will be more concrete evidence on the health benefits, which can also be used for advertising purposes.

Address

Schelztorstrasse 54-56
D-73728 Esslingen
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)711-90121090
Fax: +49 (0)711-90121099
E-Mail: info@anoxymer.info
http://www.anoxymer.com

Management

Wolfgang Neldner (CEO)
Dr. Karim Balan (CEO)
Dr. Dietrich Paper (Director of R&D)

Portrait

Anoxymer GmbH, a biotech company based in Esslingen, Germany, specialises in the research and development of plant extracts that can be used as food supplements to promote good health.

What once started with probiotic yoghurt will soon be found in all kinds of foods. Substances which are expected to have a positive effect on human health are being added to an increasing number of foods. Some such substances have predictable positive effects on our general well-being and some are plant ingredients that may prevent diseases.

“It is expected that as early as 2010, 20% of all food will have ‘value added’. Many consumers are concerned about health and prevention of diseases and find it extremely convenient to be able to improve their health by eating functional food,” said Wolfgang Neldner, who is one of the two Anoxymer CEOs. With over 20 years industrial experience, the agricultural engineer is well acquainted with the functional food market and is convinced that secondary plant ingredients have an excellent potential.
The plant material is selected in close collaboration with suppliers who are well acquainted with the cultivation area and botanical issues. The companies are constantly looking for plants with a high content of active ingredients. Anoxymer always plays safe: “Since we are developing supplements rather than new food, we only deal with plants that are recognised in the EU as food,” said Neldner.

Dough pockets with anti-ageing effects
An example of such plants is lemon verbena. The plant’s leaves are traditionally used as a relaxing herbal tea that also has an antidepressive effect. “You can of course drink eight cups of lemon verbena tea per day. But it is much easier to enjoy the benefits of the plant when the active ingredients are added to food items,” explained Neldner. An example of such food is ‘Maultaschen’ (dough pockets with a filling made from minced meat or vegetables), which was chosen, along with certain types of sausages, to have Planox® L added. Planox® L is a standardised, water-soluble verbena extract containing ten percent Anoxymins®.

The company uses Anoxymins® to produce new anti-ageing products. Anoxymins® are bioactive oligosaccharides of plant origin that have an antioxidant effect. They also have anti-inflammatory and immunostimulatory effects. Anoxymins®-containing plant extracts are ready to be marketed and their efficacy and safety have been tested in comprehensive tests. It is also planned to use the substance in drinking powders that are jointly developed and marketed with Degussa. The extracts are marketed as capsules and tablets in cooperation with a Dutch partner company.

“We only use substances of which sufficient amounts are available. The ingredients must also originate from recognised plants and must have been carefully checked using in vitro and in vivo tests. Last not least, the ingredients must have also been tested in final consumer studies. We are also looking for potential undesired side effects,” said Neldner. The tests are carried out in the company’s laboratories, where biologists and natural substance chemists use cutting-edge methods to validate the substances. For example, tests involving incubated chicken eggs replace animal experiments.

Since relocating from Straubing to the Life Science Center (LSC) in Esslingen, Anoxymer benefits from this location being close to BioTeSys – a company specialising in all kinds of analyses and also located in the LSC in Esslingen. BioTeSys cooperates with Anoxymer in testing potential healthy substances and products. “We are using natural synergistic effects by cooperating with partners in close geographic vicinity. In future, our company will concentrate on its core competences involving the development of plant extracts and project coordination. In all other fields, we will cooperate with reliable and highly qualified partners. This gives us a competitive edge,” said Neldner, explaining the company’s strategy.

Function and shape have to fit with each other
Anoxymer also cooperates with competent partners in the large-scale production of their products. “We do not directly deal with the end consumer and we want to remain a small group of developers. For this reason, we like to cooperate with global players like Degussa,” said Neldner. For example, Degussa was in charge of the “scaling up” of the Anoxymins®-containing drinking powder and has also developed an effective mixture containing hydrolysed collagen for the prevention of joint diseases.

This example shows the amount of developmental work that is still required once the actual ingredient has been found. The developers need to make sure that it is possible to integrate the extract into a particular food item. In the case of drinking powder, the extract must be water-soluble and friable. It must be able to tolerate heat and sterilisation and other processes without losing its bioactivity when added to milk products. Questions relating to application technology are dealt with by biotechnologists, food specialists and process engineers. Part of the company’s research is carried out in cooperation with European partners such as Monteloeder s.l. in Spain.

In future, Anoxymer will attach greater importance to mixtures of secondary plant ingredients that open up completely new application options, in which it aims to cooperate with partners from the food industry. Neldner doesn’t disclose any details of the company’s plans but mentions brain food and cosmetic food as products with a great future potential.

Originally published by BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH (www.bio-pro.de) on 2 June 2006