R&D
Developing high value-added health dietary supplements and functional
cosmetics by the use of new natural materials.
Phytologix
Phytologix is a technology platform that identifies and studies bioactive compounds in natural products to develop proprietary ingredients for functional products.
What is Phytologix?
Research into natural products, which began with aloes, has expanded into various medicinal plants. The concept of ‘Phytologix’ was first introduced in 1999 when our existing library was screened to identify cyclooxygenase(COX) inhibitors for the development of materials supporting joint function.
Phytologix is a technological platform that identifies and researches unique bioactive compounds inherent in natural products. Through this platform, we develop natural products into our own proprietary standardized extracts and apply them as new materials for functional cosmetics, health functional food (dietary supplements), and medicines.
Phytologix comprises three fundamental building blocks:
1. Natural product library
2. Dereplication and informatic database
3. Screening based on bioactive testing
Project
Using the Phytologix platform, we identified unique bioactive natural products and developed our own proprietary ingredients for functional cosmetics, functional food, and pharmaceutical products.
Through the first screening project, we discovered Univestin, a unique proprietary ingredient that is now produced and sold in eight countries around the world, including the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and the UK.
Supported by 52 global patents and 23 third-party validation publications, Univestin has been established as a key ingredient for world-famous joint improvement brands.
Over the past 15 years, more than 5 billion dosages of Univestin have been used across 36 brands of dietary products and health functional food produced by 28 companies.
The second project was to search more than 2,000 plant species to identify tyrosinase inhibitors. Through this exploration, 64 active extracts were obtained, and six active natural materials, along with the single compound UP302 (nibitol), which was one of the strongest tyrosinase inhibitors identified in 2003, were discovered.
An exclusive contract for UP302 was signed with Estée Lauder, and it was commercialized in 15 global skin-tone improvement brands. Nibitol became the first ingredient to be registered in China after the CFDA regulation changes in 2010.
