Gencor Pacific: Serving Multiple Markets from the Ground Up

Gencor Pacific Limited, Anaheim, CA, was founded in 1999 in Hong Kong to distribute active pharmaceutical ingredients. Backed by Jith Veeravalli, an entrepreneur with three decades of business experience and an ex-official of the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as Ram­asamy Venkatesh, a chemist with two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and international business, the company was poised to take on multiple markets and expand its global reach.

Moving to the U.S. in the early 2000s, the company decided to focus its product portfolio on Ayurvedic herbs, with a mission to develop specialty products tailored to specific health conditions, such as lipid control, skin health, weight loss and blood sugar management, among others. To that end, Gencor’s products are based on herbs predominantly used in the food cycle, and are billed as alternatives to conventional treatments. Further, the company works closely with India’s finest practitioners of Ayurveda, talks to the best scientists from India’s Ayurvedic Institutions, and listens to opinion leaders in the field of Ayurveda. These efforts have made Gencor a well-known name in the nutraceuticals arena today.

According to Dr. Jit Maheshvari, sales director, the company’s strengths lie in providing evidence-based ingredients backed by numerous safety and efficacy studies. The company has even gone a step further by setting up manufacturing and farming arrangements in India to maintain total control of its nutraceutical ingredients from herb cultivation to delivery of final product to the customer.

Some of the key ingredients in Gencor’s portfolio include Slimaluma, a proprietary extract of Caralluma fimbriata; Testofen and Trigogen, both proprietary standardized extracts from fenugreek; Gencinia, a proprietary extract of Coccinia cordifolia; Genopause, a formula consisting of four Ayurvedic, non-estrogenic plant extracts; Cleargen, a proprietary standardized extract from the mangosteen fruit; and Gentone, a proprietary standardized extract from amla, also known as the Indian gooseberry.

According to Gencor, Slimaluma has been used traditionally as an appetite suppressant by natives in India. As far as efficacy and safety is concerned, it is supported by two human clinical studies and seven toxicity studies. Currently, it is a key ingredient in more than 30 diet formulations in the U.S. and Canada. Within the last year, Slimaluma has also attained self-affirmed GRAS—Generally Recognized as Safe—status for use in food.

Testofen is positioned as a libido enhancer and muscle mass booster. It is backed by animal and human studies showing an increase in free testosterone levels.

Trigogen, positioned for blood sugar management, contains a standardized matrix of amino acids shown in studies to control fasting blood sugar, postprandial blood sugar and glycosylated hemoglobin.

Gencinia is an extract of the herb Ivy Gourd. It has been clinically tested on patients with unbalanced sugar levels. Gencor claims the extract has exhibited excellent results in controlling fasting blood sugar, postprandial blood sugar and glycosylated hemoglobin.

Genopause was developed for ameliorating postmeno­pausal symptoms in women. Specifically, it has shown excellent efficacy in a human clinical trial in controlling hot flushes, nervousness, irritability and insomnia.

Cleargen is standardized for key xanthones in mangosteen, which are known for their anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. So far, the extract has performed well in in vitro efficacy studies, as well as a small human clinical trial investigating its effects on acne and fungal skin blemishes.

Rounding out these special offerings is Gentone, which is standardized for natural vitamin c and tannins. According to the company, it has shown excellent efficacy in a human clinical study for skin whitening and for improving skin tone and texture.

In a moment of reflection, Dr. Jit said the current state of the nutraceuticals market is quite different compared to just a few years ago. “Today’s market is based on ingredients backed by safety and efficacy data in an effort to support claims,” he commented. “This has always been Gencor’s approach to the market. In fact, we’re one of the few companies in the industry that conducts regular studies on its key products. Science-based products will always be at the core of Gencor’s approach to the nutraceuticals industry.—R.W.

Gencor Pacific
920 E. Orangethorpe Avenue, Suite B
Anaheim, CA, 92801
Telephone: 714-870-8723
Fax: 732-875-0306
E-mail: info@gencorpacific.com
Website: www.gencorpacific.com