Nutritional supplement compositions for improving cardiovascular efficiency are disclosed. A nutritional supplement composition can include astaxanthin derived from Haematococcus pluvialis Extract blended with carrier oils and antioxidants. Related processes are also disclosed.

Disclosed is a baked food which comprises a cereal flour, an oil or fat component, astaxanthin and optionally an emulsifying component, has such a structure that the oil or fat component containing the astaxanthin is held in voids in a structure formed by a starch of the cereal flour, and has a porosity of 10 to 70%. Specifically disclosed is a baked food produced from an astaxanthin-containing dough, which can stably hold astaxanthin therein for a long period.

Disclosed is a baked food which comprises a cereal flour, an oil or fat component, astaxanthin and optionally an emulsifying component, has such a structure that the oil or fat component containing the astaxanthin is held in voids in a structure formed by a starch of the cereal flour, and has a porosity of 10 to 70%. Specifically disclosed is a baked food produced from an astaxanthin-containing dough, which can stably hold astaxanthin therein for a long period.

The invention is a nutritional composition in unit dosage form for oral administration to an animal or human, which includes at least one ingredient from each of six biological Kingdoms selected from the group consisting of animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, protist and archaea. Each ingredient is co-admixed with every other said ingredient without further addition of synthetic excipients or fillers, and is typically formulated in dried powder form as a drink mix, food or beverage additive or as the fill for hard or soft capsules or other dosage forms including tablets (the compositions of the invention can generally be tableted without addition of ingredients beyond the nutrients themselves).

The invention is a nutritional composition in unit dosage form for oral administration to an animal or human, which includes at least one ingredient from each of six biological Kingdoms selected from the group consisting of animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, protist and archaea. Each ingredient is co-admixed with every other said ingredient without further addition of synthetic excipients or fillers, and is typically formulated in dried powder form as a drink mix, food or beverage additive or as the fill for hard or soft capsules or other dosage forms including tablets (the compositions of the invention can generally be tableted without addition of ingredients beyond the nutrients themselves).

The invention relates to a method for fermentative production, on an industrial scale, of lipid-rich biomass of microalgae of the Chlorella genus having acceptable sensory properties, characterized in that the dissolved oxygen availability in the fermenter is controlled by tracking the respiratory quotient of said microalgae.

The invention relates to a method for fermentative production, on an industrial scale, of lipid-rich biomass of microalgae of the Chlorella genus having acceptable sensory properties, characterized in that the dissolved oxygen availability in the fermenter is controlled by tracking the respiratory quotient of said microalgae.

The present invention relates to an Ecklonia cava extract, a preparation method thereof and a pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating vascular diseases comprising the same as an active ingredient. The Ecklonia cava extract of the present invention was confirmed to have a medicinal effect on those factors involved in causing vascular diseases by the cell level experiments and the disease induced animal model experiments. Therefore, the Ecklonia cava extract of the present invention can be effectively used as an active ingredient of a pharmaceutical composition and a health functional food composition for the prevention, improvement or treatment of vascular diseases.

The present invention relates to an Ecklonia cava extract, a preparation method thereof and a pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating vascular diseases comprising the same as an active ingredient. The Ecklonia cava extract of the present invention was confirmed to have a medicinal effect on those factors involved in causing vascular diseases by the cell level experiments and the disease induced animal model experiments. Therefore, the Ecklonia cava extract of the present invention can be effectively used as an active ingredient of a pharmaceutical composition and a health functional food composition for the prevention, improvement or treatment of vascular diseases.

The use of probiotics has become very widespread as a way to sustain gastrointestinal and general health. However, not all probiotic bacteria are effective, due to poor viability, inability to survive the gastrointestinal passage, to kill pathogens and colonize the gut. That is why pre-biotic substances are usually added to sustain, nourish, protect probiotic bacteria, make them stronger and increase their overall health-enhancing properties. We have found, for the first time, that phycocyanins from cyanobacterial algae, added to the culturing of probiotic or to probiotic products, are very effective as prebiotics, being able to strengthen probiotic bacteria's viability, resistance, pathogens-fighting ability and overall ability of probiotics to sustain human and animal health.