Joanna Cosgrove10.07.10
One of the primary hindrances to the effectiveness of a supplement regimen is consumption compliance. One pill, once a day is doable, but for those who need to take multiple pills throughout the day, the case for compliance can begin to falter. Salt Lake City-UT based USANA Health Sciences took that into consideration when it developed its Nutritional Hybrid Technology, which combines two distinct formulas into one bi-layered tablet, allowing for advanced ingredient combinations while providing product stability.
John Cuomo, PhD, USANA’s executive director of research and development, said the company’s Nutritional Hybrid Technology tablets are constructed by way of a specific type of tablet press. The process lends itself to virtually any hard, or solid, dosing materials used in a standard tablet, with oil-based supplements typically encapsulated in soft gel formats being the obvious exception. Plating the oils with enough carrier to render them suitable for a solid dose application would not only reduce the delivery load but also create a pill too large to fit into the dual layered tabled format, he explained.
The hybrid tablets adhere to the same manufacturing requirements as standard tablets. Dr. Cuomo noted that hardness, disintegration and uniformity to both overall tablet weights and the weight of each side of the hybrid tablet, as well as uniformity of actives within each side of the tablet, etc., are issues of key importance.
“Since a hybrid tablet is really two separate tablets fused together, it essentially doubles the magnitude of each of these issues,” he said. “In other words, attention to small details in the manufacturing process is magnified. This requires stringent protocols be followed in the manufacturing process, and a significant increase into quality control measurements during the processing to ensure quality.”
Technology in Action
To illustrate the capacity of the technology, USANA recently unveiled two new supplement formulations: Proflavanol C 100 and Hepasil DTX.
Proflavanol C 100combines proanthocyanidins from grape-seed extract with high-potency vitamin C to “promote sound cardiovascular health, immune function, and healthy-looking skin.” An in-house USANA study found that the combination of grape-seed extract and vitamin C in Proflavanol C 100 provided long-term antioxidant activity and better protective effects than if they were not combined.
“Our consumer data revealed that many customers were using our previous Proflavanol formulas and our Poly C, a stand-alone vitamin C product, together,” explained Dr. Cuomo. “It appeared that many were unaware that the Proflavanol already contained Poly C, combined with grape-seed extract, which meant many consumers were taking more vitamin C than they needed and were buying a product they didn’t need as well.
“By visibly highlighting the two ingredients, it is easier for our consumers to understand that they are getting two distinct formulations in one tablet, and that they do not need to take that additional product,” he continued. “Their lives are simpler because they have reduced the number of tablets they take while still getting the right amount of vitamin C they need every day.”
USANA’s upgraded Hepasil DTX formula contains a proprietary blend of ingredients to maintain optimum liver support and aid in the body’s detoxification processes. According to the company, Nutritional Hybrid Technology allows key ingredients in the supplement to be boosted while at the same time maintaining product quality and stability.
“Our original blended formulation of Hepasil DTX was extremely moisture sensitive and would break apart if the moisture balance was not maintained, which was especially problematic in humid climates,” Dr. Cuomo said. “This instability was due to a reaction between the alpha-lipoic acid and other ingredients in the formula. We added a desiccant to the bottle to keep the moisture levels stable in the bottle. Now, by separating the alpha-lipoic acid from the other ingredients using Nutritional Hybrid Technology, the product is much more stable. Consumers are now less likely to lose tablets due to product disintegration.”
When asked if other bi-layered supplement formulations were in USANA’s R&D pipeline, Dr. Cuomo said the company would prefer to assess the technology’s success with the existing two products. “Without revealing too much, we have discussed a few options, including creating a bilayer tablet with a fast-acting ingredient on one side and an extended release ingredient on the other in a new supplement category for us,” he concluded.
