Choline alfoscerate is a drug used to improve cerebrovascular diseases and brain metabolism. It is a drug with proven safety, which has no effect on the kidney and liver and with no severe side effect reported. When administered to a patient with muscle cramps, it can significantly reduce pain and the occurrence of muscle cramps. Accordingly, it may be used as an active ingredient in a pharmaceutical composition for treating or preventing muscle cramps and a health functional food composition for improving muscle cramps and may also be used for a method for treating muscle cramps by administering choline alfoscerate. In addition, choline alfoscerate may also be used to prepare a medication for treating muscle cramps.

The invention encompasses compositions and methods for effectively treating and/or preventing the development and/or progression of osteoporosis and related disorders such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and for promoting overall bone and joint health. This is accomplished by addressing multiple key mechanisms that lead to such disorders. The invention includes compositions comprising a combination of agents having biological activities that effectively suppress, regulate or interfere with the various key biochemical processes and mechanisms that increase the risk for development and/or progression of osteoporosis. The present compositions and methods simultaneously promote bone formation and reduce bone resorption by (a) stimulating osteoblast formation and osteogenesis; (b) suppressing adipocyte differentiation; (c) inhibiting osteoclast formation; and (d) increasing apoptosis of osteoclasts. The inventive compositions used for administration to human and other mammalian subjects having or at risk for development of osteoporosis comprise (1) at least one agent capable of modulating expression and/or activity of one or more of peroxisome activated protein receptor gamma (PPAR-γ), CAAT/enhancer binding protein-α (C/EBPα) and Sterol Regulatory Element-Binding Protein (SREBP-1); (2) at least one agent that activates expression and/or activity of one or more of the osteogenic transcription factors (Runx2/Cbfα1, Dlx5, Osterix, Msx2); (3) at least one agent that activates expression and/or activity of one or more of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs: BMP 2 and 4), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and osteocalcin; (4) at least one agent capable of activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway; (5) at least one agent that inhibits the activity of pro-oxidants including reactive nitrogen species and reactive oxygen species (ROS); (6) at least one agent that suppresses one or more of inflammatory mediators including interleukins IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, NF-κB, TNF-α, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2); and (7) at least one agent that induces the expression of and/or activates one or more of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), sirtuin (SIRT1) and adiponectin (AP).

The present disclosure relates to a method for preventing, alleviating, improving or treating female hormone regulation disorder or symptoms, which contains a green tea extract with contents of ingredients changed. Specifically, the method according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a step of administering an effective amount of a green tea extract, which contains (−)-gallocatechin gallate (GCG) and (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) at specific contents, to a subject in need thereof, and may exhibit an effect of preventing, alleviating, improving or treating female hormone regulation disorder or symptoms.

The present disclosure relates to a method for preventing, alleviating, improving or treating female hormone regulation disorder or symptoms, which contains a green tea extract with contents of ingredients changed. Specifically, the method according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a step of administering an effective amount of a green tea extract, which contains (−)-gallocatechin gallate (GCG) and (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) at specific contents, to a subject in need thereof, and may exhibit an effect of preventing, alleviating, improving or treating female hormone regulation disorder or symptoms.

Gummy dosage forms comprising gummy compositions for nutritional supplementation, methods for providing nutritional supplementation, and kits comprising gummy compositions for nutritional supplementation are disclosed. Such gummy compositions for nutritional supplementation may provide improved patient compliance relative to non-gummy compositions for nutritional supplementation. These gummy compositions can be used to administer one or more vitamins, minerals, or trace elements.

Gummy dosage forms comprising gummy compositions for nutritional supplementation, methods for providing nutritional supplementation, and kits comprising gummy compositions for nutritional supplementation are disclosed. Such gummy compositions for nutritional supplementation may provide improved patient compliance relative to non-gummy compositions for nutritional supplementation. These gummy compositions can be used to administer one or more vitamins, minerals, or trace elements.

A dry stable probiotic composition is provided. The composition comprises one or more viable probiotic microorganisms, one or more hydrolyzed proteins, one or more disaccharides, one or more oligosaccharides, and one or more polysaccharides, but not trehalose. The composition has viability of at least 1×10.sup.10 CFU/g, and a viability loss of less than 1 log unit/g after one month at a temperature of 40° C. and a relative humidity of 33%. Also provided are methods for preparing the dry stable probiotic composition.

A dry stable probiotic composition is provided. The composition comprises one or more viable probiotic microorganisms, one or more hydrolyzed proteins, one or more disaccharides, one or more oligosaccharides, and one or more polysaccharides, but not trehalose. The composition has viability of at least 1×10.sup.10 CFU/g, and a viability loss of less than 1 log unit/g after one month at a temperature of 40° C. and a relative humidity of 33%. Also provided are methods for preparing the dry stable probiotic composition.

A method for making a granulated Stevia sweetener is described. The resulting sweetener has a desirably high solubility level.

The present invention relates to an additive to poultry feed including nitrates, nitrites or their mixtures that reduces the incidence of pectoral myopathy in poultry, for example, wooden breast myopathy in broiler chickens. In one aspect, a method for reducing the incidence of pectoral myopathy in poultry is disclosed. The method includes feeding poultry a feed having one or more nitrates, one or more nitrites, or a mixture thereof, wherein the amount of nitrates and/or nitrites in the feed is 3 g to 2,500 g per ton of feed.