PRESS

For Immediate Release
Monday, November 25 2013

Contact(s)
Margaret Gomes
Director of Marketing
310-694-3031

Gardena, CA: NP Nutra^® today announced its new harvest of Gac Fruit Powder. Gac is a gourd-shaped fruit about the size of a cantaloupe that grows on a perennial vine. Gac is usually picked at maturity, when it is bright red and the seeds are hardened. Gac is native to Southeast Asia and is harvested from September to December. The fruit must be picked at peak ripeness as they do not ripen once they are off the vine.

Gac fruit is a powerhouse of carotenoids – particularly lycopene and beta carotene. According to research carried out by the USDA, Gac contains up to 70 times more lycopene than tomatoes, 10 times more beta-carotene than carrots, 60 times more vitamin C than oranges and 40 times more zeaxanthin than yellow corn. It also contains alpha-tocopherol, vitamin F, and minerals including iron and zinc and is a source of omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids. Aril, the red, oily pulp surrounding the seeds, is an exceptional source of long-chain fatty acids, which make the nutrients in Gac readily bioavailable.

NP Nutra’s Gac Fruit Powder comes as a fine, free flowing powder ready for use in a wide variety of applications including supplements, beverages and functional foods. Gac’s vibrant, orange-red hue also serves as a natural coloring agent. The nutrients in Gac help support the immune system and maintain prostate health. Additionally, the nutrients in Gac make it an ideal ingredient in formulas that support skin health and maintain energy, stamina, and eyesight.

In northern Vietnam, it is used in making a rice dish called xoi gac. This dish was used in a study that focused on Gac’s ability to alleviate the problems caused by widespread vitamin A deficiency. The study’s conclusion was that beta-carotene from Gac is a good source of provitamin A carotenoids.1

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1 The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; Plasma B-carotene and retinol concentrations of children increase after a 30-d supplementation with the fruit Momordica cochinchinensis (gac); Le T Vuong, Stephen R Dueker, Suzanne P Murphy; 2002.

Contact NP Nutra^® for more information.