Controlled Bioactivity
is key for effectiveness
To produce an effective product, simply using ingredients with specific health benefits is insufficient. Several concepts - such as bioaccessibility, bioavailability and bioactivity - must be considered for a product to fulfil all its promises.
It is first important to precisely define “bioaccessibility”, “bioavailability” and “bioactivity”, often used indiscriminately to express similar ideas. To understand these concepts, it is essential to review the various stages, from ingredients to physiological action on a specific issue.
Bioaccessibility
Bioactive compounds must be released from the food matrix to be absorbed, and often need to be modified in the digestive tract. This concept is known as bioaccessibility. This means that the bioactive compounds must be accessible, at a minimum, to be effective. For example, if an ingredient is contained in a capsule or tablet, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be accessible.
Before the bioactive compound is released, the digestive tract must break down the tablet or capsule, and this must be done at the right time. It is not uncommon to see tablets release their ingredients too late, or not at all. There are countless examples of people reporting that they found the tablet or capsule intact in their stool.
Conversely, the matrix in which the bioactive compounds are contained can improve their effectiveness. It is thus necessary to take twice as much vitamin C in powder form compared to orange juice. Likewise, it is necessary to take twice as much orange juice to provide the same amount of vitamin C as an orange.
The liquid form was chosen for the production of Pianto and PiantoBiotic products. This formulation not only provides maximum bioactive compound accessibility, but also creates a matrix that allows increased final accessibility.
The use of fermentation, which characterises all our products, has the same objective. This process of fermented substances allows us to produce and release bioactive compounds from natural ingredients.
Bioavailability
After surmounting the initial challenge by being released from the food matrix and thus becoming bioaccessible, the compounds must be absorbed to become active. This absorption, also called bioavailability, can be influenced by several parameters. For example, complex molecules cannot be absorbed as they are and must first be broken down, to pass through the intestinal barrier.
Of these complex molecules, enzymes are an excellent example of the difficult process of bioavailability or absorption. Enzymes are often highlighted for their health benefits, but no enzymes are absorbed as they are, and they will have no systemic effect if not broken down. To be absorbed, all enzymes must be broken down into polypeptides in the stomach, and then into peptides in the intestines. This process influences the percentage of bioactive compounds actually absorbed, but also influences absorption speed. A free peptide will be absorbed much more quickly than an enzyme which must first be broken down.
This is why Pianto does everything possible to increase the bioavailability of the compounds produced during fermentation. The lysis process aims to break complex molecules down into simple molecules which will be quickly and easily absorbed. Pianto Classic has been tested by two different independent laboratories and its bioavailability was greater than 99% each time.
Bioactivity
Bioactivity is the final step in obtaining a truly effective product. When a simple molecule is released in the digestive tract and absorbed, it is then transported to its site of action. This is the principle of bioactivity. To achieve this, information on how bioactive compounds are transported, reach the target tissue, and interact with biomolecules is required for this process to be performed properly. This is why an additional metabolization step is often essential for an absorbed compound to become active.
The concentration phase of PiantoBiotic products aims to provide compounds which will work in synergy to fight a specific health issue. When compounds are chosen, the bioactivity of ingredients is assessed, to provide the body with the most effective and beneficial compounds.
Pianto aims to provide the “building blocks” that allow the body to produce its own bioactive compounds, depending on what it needs.
