In 1747 James Lind conducted one of the first placebo controlled clinical trials on record when he tested 6 groups of sailors suffering from scurvy, with six different treatment regimens. Only oranges, lemons and limes were effective. Thereafter, British ships began carrying barrels of limes (when available) to prevent scurvy. Thus, in ports and countries around the world the English came to be known as ‘Limeys’.

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L-Theanine and the mystery of tea​ ​

Tea, the beverage made from Camellia sinensis​,​ has been drunk for its beneficial effects for millennia. Legend has it that the Chinese emperor and herbalist Shennong discovered tea in 2737 BC. Shenong was famous for his wise edicts, and one such edict required that people boil their water before drinking it. This process lead, indirectly to the infusion of Camellia​ leaves to make the first tea.

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Now 21 patents cover manufacturing and identity testing of ENI's GreenGrown® material in the U.S., China, Germany, France, UK, Netherlands, Japan, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Korea. In addition to covering manufacturing by fermentation, ENI has developed a method to discern shellfish-based from vegetable-based glucosamine. Their new Isotopic Signature Carbon Tracing (ISCT) method differentiates between the molecules from either source, though they are virtually identical. As the popularity of vegan and vegetarian supplements grows, this identity and quality assurance step becomes more important. “Today, manufacturers are often attempting to produce glucosamine by fermentation in the same facilities used for shellfish-based material, and intentional or unintentional adulteration can occur,” says Cal Bewicke, CEO of ENI. “That’s why every batch of our material is tested through the ISTC method to guarantee the 100% vegetable source.” Great news for vegans and vegetarians alike!

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ENI’s co-founder and CEO was recently published in the 2018 NBJ “Dark Issue” in an article entitled ‘Botanical Extracts: Is there a war out there? A Report from the front lines.’   Cal’s article sheds light on the real quality issues in our botanical extract supply. He looks at how key brands, suppliers and industry associations are working to make a difference through rigorous quality testing, and also how the focus on cheap ingredients leads to serious adulteration problems in the products used by millions of consumers

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Author: Cal Bewicke

Well, Cranberry continues to gain attention in the news as the #2 most popular botanical in the country. Very good to see the new ABC Botanical Adulteration Program report on Cranberry, that also addressed the great variability in Cranberry supplement products today; many that are made only from simple juice concentrates or left over ‘press cake’! The report also talks about recent developments in quality and differentiation using analysis by the BL-DMAC method, that best quantifies the active ‘A-linked’ PAC’s. If anyone would like a copy of the Cranberry Report, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and we’ll send it over. It’s a very interesting read.

So, this is one more confirmation of the quality built into our Cranberex™, Oregon Cranberry Extract; a 200X concentration of the whole fruit, tested by BL-DMAC to contain 15% A-linked PAC’s. We use Oregon cranberry because the cool micro-climate of the coastal area produces dark red cranberries that are particularly rich in the valuable PAC’s.

My guess is that life on the Oregon Coast now is wet and windy. But being a part of the cranberry harvest in Bandon, Oregon is a special experience, and we’ll be up there for harvest again later in the year (when I expect the weather may be about the same!).

The list of suppliers of vegetarian based glucosamine is shrinking with the news that a major supplier is withdrawing from the market.

Cal Bewicke, co-founder and president of ENI, told NutraIngredients-USA that a number of companies had contacted him in the past few weeks seeking vegetarian glucosamine when they got the news from Cargill that that company would be winding down the supply of the ingredient later in the fall. Cargill declined several requests for comment on the reports. Bewicke emphasized he was not speaking for Cargill, but said the Egan, MN-based ingredient supplier is a vast company with a huge product list of which Regenasure forms only a tiny part, whereas ENI's ingredient, called GreenGrown Glucosamine, is a major product line for that company.

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‘Many companies now use our AlphaWave® L-Theanine in their product lines. These results further confirm the beneficial effects of AlphaWave®, and its ability to bring a sense of relaxation into stressful times’,  said Cal Bewicke, CEO of Ethical Naturals Read more

“We’re very pleased with the results of these studies,” said Cal Bewicke, CEO of ENI. “Working with premium cranberries from the Oregon coast, and with the precise DMAC method of analysis, we are able to produce an extract that corresponds to the gold standard in cranberry research. Read more

In an age where the dietary supplement industry is wrestling with adulteration issues in an increasingly open way, vertical integration can be a key component of a botanical ingredient supplier’s value proposition, experts say. Read more