A start-up company developing functional food ingredients from ancient apple varieties boasting "higher concentrations of polyphenols than green tea and cocoa" has been awarded a £243,000 grant from the UK government to fund development work with the Institute of Food Research.
Coressence, which has already launched one polyphenol-rich natural fructose syrup for use in smoothies, yoghurts, cereals and soft gel supplements, has been granted one patent and has filed three more to cover its selection methodology and extraction processes, said chief executive Richard Wood. "We're focusing on identifying new fruit varieties containing high levels of flavan-3-ol polyphenols, which are known to deliver a strong cardiovascular benefit."
The project will also provide materials to be used in the EU FLAVO project that measures arterial stiffness, platelet activity and other biomarkers of vascular inflammation.