Based on consumer demand and data analysis, the firm has pinpointed six key nutritional supplement categories for its markets, namely gut microbiome, precise nutrition, brain health, homeostasis, cardiovascular, and anti-ageing.
Particularly for the Chinese market, a core focus of BYHEALTH’s R&D is on women’s health, according to Jesse Gu, the company’s head of sales and marketing.
“Women make up 70% of VDS consumers in China, with their needs mostly comprising ingestible beauty, probiotics, and weight management.
“Additionally, nearly 80% of VDS consumers are between the ages of 21 and 40, with a noticeable increase in the proportion of young people aged 21 to 30. In 2023, sales of health supplements in tier 1 and tier 2 cities increased,” Gu shared during her presentation at Growth Asia Summit 2024.
The rising sales in these highly developed cities is said to be due to the adverse health effects resulting from fast-paced lifestyles, which have prompted more people to incorporate VDS into their daily life to maintain health and well-being.
The company has also identified some of the most popular ingredients in women’s supplements in China, such as probiotics, soy isoflavones, cranberry, collagen, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, evening primrose oil, and astaxanthin.
“BYHEALTH’s products are supported by the research of over 500 global scientists, including Nobel Prize laureate Dr Jeffrey C. Hall. We are very fortunate to work with Dr Hall, who has been our chief scientific advisor since 2018, in our product development. We are constantly looking for premium raw ingredients’ suppliers for new innovations.”
Role of circadian rhythms
Circadian rhythms run on a 24-hour cycle as part of the body’s internal clock, and can affect physical and mental health. The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) in the brain is the central pacemaker of the circadian timing system that regulates most circadian rhythms in the body.
Modern lifestyle factors, such as irregular sleep schedules, artificial lighting and travel, can disrupt circadian rhythms, leading to detrimental effects on health.
Emerging evidence suggest that the SCN is involved in liver glucose metabolism, and disruptions to circadian rhythms can have far-reaching impact on various physiological processes and liver health.
Specifically, the SCN triggers the liver clock, which in turn affects metabolism of carbohydrate, lipid and amino acid, detoxification, synthesis of plasma proteins, and bile acid metabolism.
“For women, liver health is also significantly linked to skin health. The liver plays a vital role in hormone metabolism, including the processing of oestrogen. If oestrogen is not adequately processed by the liver, excessive oestrogen can bind to melanocytes and increase skin pigmentation, which affects skin tone.
“Therefore, healthy circadian rhythms are very beneficial for maintaining liver and skin health. Distorting the circadian rhythms can cause many health problems for women, including feeling of exhaustion, dull complexion, bad mood, acne, and dark circles.”
Targeting needs
To address these liver and skin concerns, BYHEALTH has developed a product called Women’s Care & Liver Cleanse.
The supplement comes in small tablet form and in a shade of pink, and has a flower-like scent. It boasts a four-in-one formula containing the firm’s patented milk thistle, nicotinamide (vitamin B), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and Reynoutria japonica (Japanese knotweed).
A study using an animal liver cell model to simulate human liver cells was conducted by the company, with the experimental group being pre-treated with the supplement.
Both the experimental and control groups underwent oxidative cell damage simultaneously.
The results were observed from five aspects, namely energy, antioxidant capacity, cellular metabolic activity, liver function, and morphology.
It was found that the experimental group had improvements in each of these areas, compared to the control group.
In addition, cellular experiments were held to elucidate the effect of Women’s Care & Liver Cleanse on liver function post-oxidative damage.
A significant improvement in liver cell survival rate (14.7%) was seen following supplementation.
At the same time, malondialdehyde (MDA) content significantly decreased as opposed to normal levels, with a 43.6% reduction compared to control group. This represents an alleviation of oxidative damage.
An increase in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) serum levels indicates liver injury or disease. The ALT biochemical marker significantly decreased by 42.7%, compared to the control group, in this study.
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the source of energy for use and storage at the cellular level, while the mitochondrial membrane potential assay is typically used to detect mitochondrial dysfunction, including liver diseases.
“Liver cell energy metabolism was significantly enhanced, as ATP content in the supplementation group increased by 131.84% and mitochondrial test results returned to normal levels. These findings further demonstrated the efficacy of our product,” Gu said.