AUSTIN, TEXAS — Layn Natural Ingredients has “adopted” Sophora japonica, a botanical herb used in its latest antioxidant ingredient, SophorOx™, through the American Botanical Council’s (ABC) Adopt-an-Herb research and education program.

“[Our] adoption of Sophora japonica is important because at the core of Layn Natural Ingredients’ vision is innovating natural botanical ingredients that benefit people, pets, and the planet,” said Collette Kakuk, vice president of global marketing at Layn. “Sophora japonica has a rich history in Chinese medicine, and our Sophora japonica extracts deliver a range of constituents, especially flavonoids, such as quercetin and rutin, which serve as important metabolic antioxidants for health functions.

“With decades of experience in vertically integrated botanical ingredient innovation and manufacturing at a global scale, Layn Natural Ingredients controls a significant portion of the global market share of Sophora japonica, and we are committed to ensuring a sustainable, secure, and quality supply of this ingredient so its benefits can be realized,” Kakuk said.

The adoption of this ingredient supports ABC’s HerbMedPro database, which provides up-to-date information on herbal and dietary supplement for professionals including health professionals, researchers, industry members, students and consumers. The HerbMedPro database includes information on the uses and health effects of more than 265 herbs, spices, medicinal plants and fungi, ABC shared.

“ABC is grateful to Layn Natural Ingredients for adopting Sophora japonica, and thus enabling access to the latest data on this important medicinal plant through the HerbMedPro database, making it even more informative for the dietary supplement and herbal medicine community,” said Stefan Gafner, Ph.D., chief science officer at ABC. “The flower is one of the richest sources of rutin, which is known to help strengthen and increase the flexibility of blood vessels, thus lending support to some of the benefits of Sophora japonica in the traditional Chinese medicine system.”

Sophora japonica is also known as the Japanese pagoda tree, Japanese sophora or Chinese scholar tree. The flowers are the most commonly used part of this plant, but other parts such as the roots, buds and branches are used in traditional Chinese medicine as well.

According to ABC, much of the modern research conducted on Sophora japonica is centered on the herb’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Layn Natural Ingredients, which is focused on developing natural, renewable ingredients for several industries including pet food manufacturing, recently launched SophorOx as a natural antioxidant extract solution well-suited for pet supplements, dietary supplements, sports nutrition and personal care products.

“Part of Layn’s mission statement is to be at the vanguard of bringing innovation and science to the nutraceutical industry,” said Jim Roza, chief scientific officer at Layn. “We are pleased to have strong science and support for SophorOx™, our premium Sophora japonica extract. We recently worked with researchers to conduct in vivo and in vitro studies on this extract. [These studies] concluded it was highly effective in lowering levels of compounds that contribute to oxidative stress.”

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