“Our process of developing Holixer took five years of research and is made with Bioactive Optimization Technology, yielding a unique profile, Ocimum-Bioactive Complex (OBC), which is a potent collection of different bioactives, creating a unique holy basil ingredient,” said Narender Reddy, Chief Executive Officer at Natural Remedies.
Holixer launches alongside the proprietary and patent-pending Bioactive Optimization Technology (BOT), which the company explains combines chemistry and biology knowledge to optimize bioactives and dose.
A unique holy basil
Native to India and considered as sacred in the Hindu faith, holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is used in Ayurveda as an adaptogen to ease mental and physical stress in nourishing the “vital spirit”.
Through its modern technology, Natural Remedies says it has developed a unique form of the botanical, chockfull of bioactives compared to other holy basil that mostly contains triterpenes.
“Holixer contains a complex of bioactives called OBC or Ocimum Bioactive Complex containing Ociglycoside-I, Rosmarinic acid, Rabdosiin, Apigenin-7-O-glucouronide and Luteolin-7-O-beta-glucouronide and the entire complex are standardized to >5% by HPLC,” Abey Thomas, head of marketing at Natural Remedies, told NutraIngredients-USA.
The company highlights Holixer as a low-dose supplement (250 mg per day) and 100% water-soluble for flexible nutraceutical formulation into gummies, shots, sachets, tablets and capsules. It is also available in organic grades and is produced with good agricultural and field collection practices certified by India’s Voluntary Certification scheme for medicinal plant produce (VCSMPP).
Parameters for all endpoints
Behind the technology and the sustainable supply chain story are the clinical studies on Holixer that have shown that the ingredient works by inhibiting and/or reducing cortisol release from the adrenal glands in response to stress-induced production of adrenocorticotropic hormone.
In commenting on the most recent human study published in Frontiers in Nutrition, Thomas said that “the unique aspect was using subjective and objective parameters for the clinical study for all endpoints.”
Researchers found that that Holixer improved sleep by 50%, reducing fatigue by 28%, anxiety by 36% and sleep disturbance by 30%. In addition, the supplementation group showed a 66% lower hair cortisol concentration compared to placebo.
“Using hair cortisol for the evaluation of everyday stress is probably the first of its kind in the botanical space, as well as using Fitbit to evaluate sleep which is in tandem with our vision of empowering not only our customers, who are the brand formulators, but also their consumers to assess the impact of the ingredient in their formula with data,”he added.
Into the stress and sleep support market
Holixer launches into a stress and sleep support category, which Thomas indicates continues to grow exponentially given the impact of high stress levels on sleep.
“Consumers spent approximately $600 million on supplements for sleep in 2017 — and by 2025, that number is expected to surge to nearly $1.6 billion,” he said, citing Nutrition Business Journal’s 2022 Condition Specific Report.
“Within this, the herbal sleep segment is expected to nearly quadruple in sales from 70 million in 2017 to 323 million in 2025.”
Natural Remedies’ branded ingredients are distributed in North America exclusively through functional ingredients company AIDP.