Provexis-Fruitflow – keeping your blood flowing through thick and thin

Provexis plc: a food ingredient promoting healthy blood flow

A discovery that a tomato extract could help with healthy blood flow led to a functional food ingredient now marketed globally via Provexis plc, - a University of Aberdeen spin-out company based in Aberdeen. Provexis’ main product is called Fruitflow® and is the result of findings by researchers at the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, now part of the University of Aberdeen.

Researchers investigating the influence of nutrition in cardiovascular disease found that biologically active natural molecules in tomatoes help to prevent blood clotting: a known cause of heart attack, stroke, and venous thrombosis.

In 2009, Fruitflow® was the first food ingredient to meet the requirements of the European Food Safety Agency for products with a specific health claim. Provexis is listed on the AIM market (the London Stock Exchange's international market for smaller growing companies). Provexis has co-development agreements with major international partners, including DSM, Unilever, and Coca-Cola. This case demonstrates the direct translation of research to a functional food ingredient of interest to global market players.

Rowett researchers demonstrated that Fruitflow® works by keeping blood platelets “smooth” which allows them to flow more easily inside the blood vessels
Professor Peter Morgan

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Key publications

Dutta-Roy AK, Crosbie, L and Gordon MJ. (2001). Effects of tomato extract on platelet aggregation in vitro. Platelets 12(4): 218-227.Dutta-Roy, AK. (2002). Dietary components and human platelet activity. Platelets 13: 67-75. Discovery of anti-platelet factors in plants, vegetables and fruits provides a new dietary means for a long-term strategy to favourably modify human blood platelet activity; this paper summarises the effects of these dietary components on human platelet function both in vitro and in vivo indicating roles for human use.

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