Actazin® and Livaux®: Biome Balance and Bowel Regularity from AIDP

Emma Graham-Actazin Livaux
Danielle Lin
Science of Your Life

Danielle Lin: Hello, I’m Danielle Lin and this is Science of Your Life, a book and library designed to help you navigate and identify the world’s leading ingredient suppliers with premium resources backed by science, proven efficacy, and sustainability. Our time today will be focused on a category that is one of the rising stars with high prominence already, digestive health, or the lack thereof. With all of the interviews I’ve done (over 3 decades) this subject is the one that perhaps needs the most clarification. From prebiotics to probiotics, IBS, to Fodmap, it’s flooded with marketers and misinformation and it’s not just let’s address the microbiome from this angle, it’s a triangle and by that I mean there are many sides to the story with varying symptoms, different pathologies, and every fiber, fruit, and tree has its’ own unique biological expression and genetic code which means it will effect the body in its own specific way per ingredient. So, if you are considering entering or expanding in the digestive health and in this case today in prebiotics listen up because what you learn here could change your thinking dramatically before you formulate. My guest, Emma Graham, has her Masters of Science in Forensic Science from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. In our time together we will look at the triangle from the prebiotic perspective with two clinically substantiated ingredients derived from the beloved kiwi fruit, not just any kiwi (you will learn more on that in just a minute), and why the kiwi (being grown in New Zealand) actually makes a difference in two different ways. The sister fruits are branded under the name of Actazin and the patented active ingredient Livaux. Pristinely cultivated in New Zealand and supplied by Anagenix and distributed in the U.S. by AIDP, Inc., a premier global ingredient supplier. So, let’s jump in. Emma is calling in from New Zealand and it’s so nice to speak with you. Thanks for your time. It is exciting and I guess more important there are tens of millions of people already plagues by uncomfortable gut-related issues. Do we know why it just seems like IBS and Chronic Fatigue and all of these things that have to do with gut health are on the rise?

Emma Graham:  Yeah, well, thanks for having me, Danielle. So, a large part of the gut-health issues are lifestyle related and that’s why it’s increasing. So, there are things like diet, a lack of exercise, stress, travel, even taking medications (particularly antibiotics) and hormone levels can all contribute to disrupting the digestive system and can lead to things like IBS but even simpler things like bloating, wind, cramps, and constipation. So, most people are probably aware now that you’ve got your gut microbiome in your body that are microbes that live inside your intestine. They play a key role in digestion but we have also found they are essential for our immune system and scientists have been investigating how that influences our health and also the risk of disease. So, what scientists are finding is that these microbes are actually associated with things like obesity, Type II Diabetes, cancer, mental health, and also those intestinal diseases like IBS and IBD.

Danielle Lin: It’s interesting, years ago a friend of mine was suffering from alcohol problems. He went into one of the high profile centers and when he came out (this was years ago, 20 years ago maybe) he said this is all related to my gut health and they don’t even know it. So, I think that the idea that the brain and the gut over the last few years it has become more accepted and what we’ll talk about throughout this hour is addressing Anagenix is the group that brought the kiwi forward and Actazin is the first of the two ingredients in the kiwi family. We’ll talk about the difference between which kiwi and why and what it really…I mean can it really make a difference in the same food and, if so, what is the difference? If you are thinking of being involved in this area, it’s not so easy. It’s not just to go and get a prebiotic or a probiotic. There are actually unique differences that really do make a difference. As I mentioned, AIDP is the company that is distributing it. That is at AIDP.com if you want more information and it is easily found at Actazin.com and there is an organic version of it. So, we are going to talk about all of that, too, with the fast facts and information on gut health. I’m Danielle Lin, we’re here with Emma Graham.

I don’t really know of any country in the world that everyone says good things about but when you mention New Zealand something just happens. I used to live there and I can tell you it’s all true. It is an amazing country. No matter when you go, Mother Nature surrounds you. Even in the cities, there’s this feeling that something is different. There’s also a unique difference in the kiwifruit in New Zealand. So, I wanted to get a little background. Emma Graham is joining us. The company is Anagenix and they are the ones that provide the raw materials that are distributed globally but in the United States especially by AIDP, and I mentioned that. So, Emma, how did it come about? I mean, I never heard (even when I was in New Zealand) that kiwi fruit had some value as a prebiotic. In fact, even being on the air for so many years, no one really mentioned prebiotics until a few years ago. So, how did this all come about?

Emma Graham: Yes, so Anagenix has been around for probably about 7 years now and so one of our first products was actually looking at kiwi fruit. Kiwifruit is New Zealand’s national fruit. You will find them in everyone’s fruit bowl when they are in season. In fact, in New Zealand, we have actually always known that green kiwi fruit (in particular) is really good for digestive health. Basically what Anagenix does is we have harnessed this knowledge and investigated it further and so what we found is that kiwi fruit is packed full of goodies. There is fiber, soluble and insoluble fiber, vitamins, done is we have conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled crossover study and what we found was that it has shown to significantly increase the number of weekly bowel movements by 20% and it increased the stool frequency but it didn’t actually effect the stool form so people who weren’t having loose or runny stools and so the participant also didn’t experience any unwanted side effects like bloating or cramping or having that sense of urgency and that can often be associated with the laxatives or fiber supplements which are traditionally taken by people to relieve constipation.

Danielle Lin: Yeah, so that’s the unique factor here and throughout the next couple of segments here we are going to talk about it because, really, what Anagenix and others have discovered is in the two different fruits, two different properties that effect the body two different ways and so when the clinical studies were done for me it was fascinating because I never thought about that there was a green kiwi fruit, never thought that there was a gold kiwi fruit, and certainly never thought of it…if you live in New Zealand you might think about it for bowel irregularity but never, ever have I heard and that’s why this time together is so important. Do you really know what prebiotics do and do we need prebiotic and probiotic together? Do you mix them? Do you only have to have one? All of these questions that the consumers are starting to ask are starting to get answered by companies like Anagenix and it’s certainly important to make sure as you’re going to market that you understand that. It’s Anagenix@Actazin.com to get more information but also AIDP.com and we will continue. I’m Danielle Lin, this is Science of Your Life.

We are continuing. This is Science of Your Life. We are talking about Actazin which is one of the two kiwi fruits. The other one is Livaux which we are going to talk about in a minute and these are ingredients both Actazin and Livaux supplied as bulk powder ingredients so they can be made into stand-alone formats or formulated with other ingredients as prebiotics and probiotics and they taste great. So, if you had them in a sachet or sticks or chewable tablets or gummies that’s the other great thing about this particular raw material whether it’s in liquid, powder, or capsules, it has a great taste and that’s unusual for nutraceuticals. Emma Graham is joining us. Emma, just to touch on the probiotic/prebiotic if somebody is listening that is formulating, do you make one stand alone? Should they go together? What’s the best way to make a line?

Emma Graham: Prebiotics are basically food for your beneficial gut bacteria so prebiotics are really great for helping good bacteria to grow and thrive pushing out bad bacteria. It also produces beneficial compounds short-chain fatty acids. So, having prebiotics combined with probiotics is a really good way to boost those good bacteria in your gut. Taking probiotics helps repopulate the gut but then if you combine it with prebiotic you are actually getting like not just a complimentary but sometimes even synergistic effect going on giving it even more benefit.

Danielle Lin: Uh-huh. So, people are designing say Actazin as their own single product and they could do it in a line of products that would give complete beneficial results inside the body. So, that’s interesting. So, the dosage that was done on clinicals on the Actazin, what’s that? And Actazin would be for the relief of constipation and to get things moving. What are the milligrams, the dosage you take, and how long do you take it?

Emma Graham: What we would recommend from our clinical study we found that taking 2400mg (or 2.4 grams) is really good for you to get things moving and we recommend taking it for 3-5 days if you are constipated. Then, after that to maintain bowel regularity, all you need is about 600mg per day. So, that’s much lower than a typical fiber product from the market and because it’s that natural kiwi fruit, you aren’t getting any of those horrible side effects.

Danielle Lin: Absolutely. So, between, you know, you do the comparisons. A lot of people get bloated from some of the things that they are trying to balance out their gut and then you have problems with fermentation inside the gut and people don’t feel well. So, what is the difference if we are looking at (and especially with the clinical studies) so the Actazin is for constipation. Explain Livaux because that seems to have its’ own unique beneficial substantiation.

Emma Graham: Livaux is from the gold kiwi fruit. So, what we found in the clinical studies is the gold kiwi fruit, the Livaux, actually had a good effect on the unique gut microbe called Faecalibacterium rausnitzii or as we like to call it for short, F. prau. Basically, it means there are heroes within your gut microbiome everyone knows Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria for example but recently F. prau was found to be very important for gut health. One of the most abundant bacteria in the human gut but low numbers have actually been associated with various conditions, for example, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. So, basically that suggests that ensuring that you have the right balance of F. prau is very important for your health and wellness.

Danielle Lin: So, we’ve had it all along? We’ve had it all along but no one really understood it or focused on it. Certainly not from my experience. What destroys it or what boosts it?

Emma Graham: Unfortunately, oxygen actually kills process. prau. Once it’s outside of the body it is going to die so it’s actually hard to actually fix it up into a probiotic supplement so really the only effective strategy for improving F. prau levels is to help your existing F. prau population to thrive and that’s where taking a prebiotic like Livaux can help.

Danielle Lin: Let’s take a look at the clinical studies. So, we’ve got two kiwi fruits (one gold, one green) and Livaux. We’re going to be talking about the studies that were done on that. You could go either way when you are developing a product. You actually have two products, two ingredients to look at varying conditions literally tens of thousands of people around I know even in cities like California. I talk to people across the country in America but I know around the world gut health is big and it leads to all kinds of other problems. So, take a look at Livaux. LIVAUX.com and we’ll talk more with Emma Graham. This is Science of Your Life, I’m Danielle Lin.

Alright, let me give you the basic information. We are talking about two separate ingredients, Actazin and Livaux. Actazin is ACTAZIN and Livaux is LIVAUX. The Actazin is the green kiwi, the Livaux is the gold. Actazin is really from a cold-pressed green kiwi concentrate and it supports regular bowel movements through its’ own natural abundance of the soluble and insoluble fibers, the polyphenols, and the enzymic reaction. On the Livaux side (which we are talking about now and expanding that) that’s the gold kiwi and really, if you’re wanting to develop a product that addresses constipation that’s the side you want and to rebuild that gut. Emma Graham is with me. Emma, the clinical studies, I know that one thing that is good about this is that it is GRAS approved, it’s non-GMO (which is important for people sometimes) and also Fodmap is really getting to be big. It has patents and trademarks. So, let’s talk about the studies on Livaux.

Emma Graham: So, what we could look at on the clinical studies with Livaux is we actually found the F. prau levels doubled after Livaux treatment. It went from 3.4% up to 7% so quite a significant improvement and that was in functionally constipated individuals. Those study participants also noted an improvement in their general feeling of wellness following the 4-week course of Livaux.     And so what we found is that gold kiwi fruit contains both polyphenols and fiber and what we think is that these actually feed F. prau specifically. So, F. prau itself has anti-inflammatory properties but it’s also a major butyrate producer. Butyrate is a short chain fatty acid that produced as the by-product of the fermentation by the gut bacteria and it’s used as an energy source for the cells that line the colon and it also has an anti-inflammatoryaction itself along with a whole range of other health benefits.

Danielle Lin: What was the dosage?

Emma Graham: Yeah, so the dose for Livaux we found that we were using between 600mg up to 2400mg per day is good for being able to alter or modify the microbiome and that low dose was really well tolerated and no side effects either. So, that means it can be safely taken by anyone who wants to restore balance to the microbiome.

Danielle Lin: If you were producing a line you could do both and then, as I mentioned, it could be delivered in a liquid, powder, or capsule form and they both work inherently different but still in the same area of functionalities per ingredient. So, one side there is an organic version. Then we were talking about the other side which you said does get sprayed with a mineral. I thought that was fascinating. Just mention that for a second.

Emma Graham: Yes, in New Zealand we use a copper spray to help basically to control the pests basically and copper is a mineral. We have natural levels of copper in your fruits and vegetables anyway so that’s really good. There are not any of those harsh chemicals, harsh pesticides that you might see in other areas.

Danielle Lin: Yeah and no solvents are used in the manufacturing and I love the Bio-gro certified organic versions, Kosher, and Halal. One of the interesting things for those of you who are looking for formulating is when you see there are different countries developing different markets with different trends (especially when it comes to fiber products because they are so globalized) they work with distributors and licensees and AIDP actually, if you want to make contact and learn more about Livaux or Actazin or Anagenix you can go to Anagenix.com but if you want to learn about the two products because you are trying to formulate and design they can help you get on that path. AIDP.com. Emma, the most important thing that you could tell a formulator about the kiwi fruit?

Emma Graham: It’s a natural product. It’s really a powerful, clinically proven to help with your digestive health and a great formulation ingredient.

Danielle Lin: I love that it’s high in Vitamin C, polyphenols and just a good source of fiber from a good country and that’s one of the best parts about doing this is that you go around the world. We look to find out who is putting together the highest quality, branded raw materials in the world with trademarks and patent protection. The reason that’s important for you is that will give you the substantiation as a formulator that you’ve always got a strong back to sustain your company. Emma, thank you for being with us. We appreciate it and we’ll look forward to learning more about Livaux and Actazin from Anagenix in the future. I’m Danielle Lin, this is Science of Your Life.