home > minerals > product infoPhytoSel™
and PhytoChrome™
WHAT ARE THEY?
PhytoSel™, PhytoChrome™,
PhytoZinc™, PhytoIron™, and MultiMins™
are dried, powdered (pass 60 mesh),
unprocessed edible Brassica juncea (Indian mustard) plants. These plant
powders contain plant-bound selenium and chromium trace elements at
concentrations thousands of times the amounts that occur in most plants.
HOW ARE THEY PRODUCED?
InB:Biotechnologies scientists have developed a patented, proprietary
process for hydroponically growing these plants in greenhouses under
controlled conditions of light, moisture, temperature and critical
nutrient regimes. This results in the plants taking up into their cells
and tissues large quantities of select micronutrients - over a thousand
times higher than in conventional plants. The plants are harvested,
dried at mild heat (<150° F), and ground to provide a free flowing
powder suitable for formulations.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF InB:Biotechnologies PHYTOMINERALS?
For the first time it is possible to provide trace elements in a pure
natural plant from. Not an inorganic mineral, not a yeast product, not a
synthetic chelate, but an unaltered plant product. These trace elements
are in the same form as found in conventional foods, just at much higher
levels. These levels are sufficient to provide daily trace nutrients
requirements in 100 mg or less. The benefit of natural nutrition in a
small powerful package! Ideal for multivitamin/mineral formulations,
nutritional supplements of all kinds, functional foods, your products.
HOW DO THEY COMPARE TO OTHER PLANT MINERAL SOURCES?
There are no other natural Se, Cr, Zn, or Fe plant supplement sources on the
market. For example, the highest source of Se in plant matter is 100 ppm
in Amazonian Brazil nuts, which require oil extraction to make into a
flowing powder. Some garlic plants also have similar concentrations of
Se, but are not commercially available. In any event, no edible plant
source comes close to the Se content of PhytoSel™, Cr levels in PhytoChrome™,
Fe content of PhytoIron™, or
Zn content of PhytoZinc™.
HOW DO THEY COMPARE TO MINERAL ENRICHED YEAST?
There are some yeast and microalgae products on the market enriched in
Se, Cr, Fe, and Zn but the minerals are added as inorganic salts to the yeast
after growing and concentrating into a paste, which is then spray dried.
In effect, the salts are diluted with yeast powder! Some yeasts are
cultivated in the presence of selenium (sodium selenate), so the Se is
taken up by the yeast cells. However, analysis of a best-selling yeast
product found that most of the Se in the yeast had been reduced to
selenite and elemental selenium, which are poorly bioavailable. In the
PhytoSel™ product the Se is incorporated into organic molecules (e.g.
selenium methionine) and plant-bound selenate, the two most highly
bioavailable forms of selenium. Similarly, the Cr in PhytoChrome™ is
bound organically within the plant tissue matrix.
HOW DO THEY COMPARE WITH INORGANIC / CHELATED MINERALS?
Inorganic mineral salts and chelates are inexpensive sources of trace
elements. However, they are poorly bioavailable and exhibit secondary
interactions. Most troubling, they provide a sense of false security to
consumers - they are taking their supplements but are not assimilating
the nutrients. Synthetic complexes and chelates are touted as being more
bioavailable than the inorganic salts, but are so only in laboratory
experiments. After entering the acid stomach most chelated minerals
revert to their original inorganic form. Many vendors mix mineral salts
with soy or other proteins and amino acids, but that is no better than
mixing these with yeast powder. Humans evolved to obtain our nutrients
from plant foods, and these are still the best sources. InB:Biotechnologies'
PhytoSel™, PhytoChrome™, PhytoIron™, and PhytoZinc™
are the only available plant sources of
concentrated minerals.
WHAT ABOUT SAFETY?
These products containing relatively large amounts of Se, Cr, Fe, and Zn
nutrients and must be handled with care during manufacturing, preventing
dust exposure and in dispensing the right dosage into formulations.
Studies done by InB:Biotechnologies demonstrates a lower toxicity for
the PhytoSel™, PhytoChrome™, PhytoIron™, and PhytoZinc™
products than for the corresponding
inorganic salts, on a element content basis. The Brassica juncea plants
used by
InB:Biotechnologies
are neither genetically modified nor are pesticides or herbicides are
used in the hydroponic production process. The hydroponic nature of the
process does not allow for organic certification, but the process is
based on good agricultural and supplement manufacturing practices. The
microbiological counts are low.
WHAT ABOUT GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS?
The PhytoSel™, PhytoChrome™, PhytoIron™, PhytoZinc™, and
MultiMins™
products are unprocessed edible plant
products, grown under greenhouse and hydroponic conditions with
conventional agricultural plant nutrients. Their use as food supplements
falls under DSHEA, which allows the use of these products without FDA
approval or regulation. In other countries, such as Canada, with strict
limitations on inorganic mineral supplements, the
InB:Biotechnologies
products can be sold as natural, plant-based supplements.
HOW MUCH DO THEY COST?
PhytoSel™, PhytoChrome™, PhytoIron™, PhytoZinc™, and
MultiMins™
are competitively priced with the leading
selenium and chromium supplement products on the market! Even though
they represent a superior new product, with great potential consumer
appeal, the costs to manufacturers is similar or lower than that of
popular brands such as SelenoMax™ and Chromium picolinate.
InB:Biotechnologies
PhytoSel™ and PhytoChrome™ - superior new products at competitive
prices.
