Positive Health Online

Unilever acquires Pukka Herbs

by Jim Manson

Dutch-British multinational Unilever has acquired pioneering British organic herbal tea and supplements brand Pukka Herbs for an undisclosed sum. Unilever says that Pukka’s core health and wellness philosophy offers a synergistic fit with its own sustainable living plan.

Pukka, formed in 2001 by Tim Westwell and Sebastian Pole, has a turnover of over £30m and growth of around 30%. It has also been growing rapidly across Europe and the US. According to Euromonitor 2016, Pukka is the fastest growing organic tea company in the world.

Unilever’s refreshment category president, Kevin Havelock, said: “Pukka has strong values and a clear purpose that aligns fully with our own sustainable growth model. There’s a clear strategic, philosophical and cultural fit for us.”

“Both of us believe in business being a force for good in society. Tim and Sebastian have cultivated Pukka into a successful business without compromising their ingredients or their ideals. The acquisition strengthens our tea business, addressing a gap in our portfolio. Pukka is a premium player in the natural, organic, health and wellness segment which is fast-growing, attractive and scalable. We look forward to bringing Pukka to even more consumers.”

Tim Westwell, Pukka co-founder and CEO said: “From day one, our mission was to connect more people with the incredible power of plants and herbs. Sixteen years later, with 1.5 billion Pukka teas enjoyed, we’ve made huge progress - and it’s just the beginning.”

“Pukka will remain 100% organic and a champion for fair trading through pioneering schemes like Fair for Life, and continue to donate 1% of its sales to global environmental charities. With Unilever, we have new levels of reach and opportunity”

Sebastian Pole, Pukka co-founder and Master Herbsmith said: “Choosing Unilever came down to two fundamentals: scale and sustainability. It is a leader in social and environmental change and it wholeheartedly embraces Pukka’s beliefs. So, there’s a meeting of values. Pukka will remain 100% organic and a champion for fair trading through pioneering schemes like Fair for Life, and continue to donate 1% of its sales to global environmental charities. With Unilever, we have new levels of reach and opportunity.”

About the Author

Jim Manson is Editor-in-Chief of Diversified Communications UK‘s natural and organic publishing portfolio. He’s written widely on environment and development issues for specialist magazines and national media, including the Financial Times, The Guardian, The Times, and World Bank Urban Age.

Source and Further Information
Natural Products Global: news@naturalproductsglobal.email

www.naturalproductsglobal.com/breaking-news/unilever-acquires-pukka-herbs/

Anti-Inflammatory, Anti-Stress Drugs Taken Prior to Surgery May Reduce Metastatic Recurrence

The body's stress inflammatory response is an active agent of cancer metastasis, TAU researchers say

Most cancer-related deaths are the result of post-surgical metastatic recurrence. In metastasis, cells of primary tumours travel to other parts of the body, where they often proliferate into inoperable, ultimately fatal growths.

A new Tel Aviv University study finds that a specific drug regimen administered prior to and after surgery significantly reduces the risk of post-surgical cancer recurrence. These medications, a combination of a beta blocker (which relieves stress and high blood pressure) and an anti-inflammatory, may also improve the long-term survival rates of patients. The treatment is safe, inexpensive - two medications similar in price to aspirin - and easily administered to patients without contraindications.

The research was led by Prof. Shamgar Ben-Eliyahu of TAU's School of Psychological Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience in collaboration with Prof. Steven Cole of UCLA; Prof. Oded Zmora of Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer; Prof. Eran Sharon of Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson; and Prof. Tanir Ellweiss of Kaplan Medical Center. It was published in Clinical Cancer Research.

Deviating from Dogma

"We've taken an unconventional approach, deviating from the current medical dogma that refrains from intervening during the short period surrounding a cancer surgery - no chemo, radio or immune therapy for at least three weeks before or after surgery," Prof. Ben-Eliyahu said. "Even within the medical establishment, we encountered some levels of disbelief and antagonism. But after conducting ample studies in animal models of cancer, and reviewing the medical literature, we came to the firm conclusion that maybe this is the most important period in the prevention of cancer recurrence."

For the study, 38 breast cancer patients at Sheba Medical Center, Kaplan Medical Center and Rabin Medical Center were given a pharmacological treatment - Deralin (used to reduce blood pressure and anxiety) and Etopan (used to reduce inflammation) - five days before their surgeries, the day of their surgeries and five days after their surgeries. Blood and tumour tissue samples were then analyzed using whole genome gene expression profiling to identify all the RNAs expressed in malignant cells and leukocytes.

"We found that the drugs were very efficient in reducing biomarkers of metastatic processes," Prof. Ben-Eliyahu said. "For example, we found that the drug treatment reverses EMT [epithelial-mesenchymal transition] - the process that tumour cells go through to slip out of the primary tumour and enter another organ. It is a crucially important step in the metastatic process. We also looked at indices related to the immune system and were able to improve immune competence and reduce inflammation with the drugs."

The research team has conducted a similar study, which has not yet been published, on colorectal cancer patients and has found similar results.

The researchers are currently considering a larger-scale clinical trial to establish the clinical long-term beneficial effects of this treatment. "Positive outcomes should validate this treatment and lead to its becoming available for most cancer patients," Prof. Ben-Eliyahu concluded.

Further Information

Published from Tel Aviv University Newsroom.

Source: George Hunka  ghunka@aftau.org

Contact: Jordan Isenstadt Marino <jisenstadt@marinopr.com>

Articles on ME/CFS by Margaret Williams and Professor Malcolm Hooper

1986-2017

With contributions from Eileen Marshall (1994-2007) and others

1986 | 1989 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |

A collection of articles by Margaret Williams and Professor Malcolm Hooper together with related documents written by other people (for example, the Countess of Mar, Professor George Szmukler, Professor Simon Wessely, Professor Michael Sharpe, as well as official reports and the PACE trial protocol). These articles have been available on the internet or elsewhere for many years but now for the first time have been brought together in one place. The intention is to provide a valuable historical resource for researchers, advocates, patients and anyone interested in the illness Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. These articles illustrate how the "Wessely School" have ignored the biomedical science on ME/CFS for almost 30 years.

Margaret Williams is the pen-name used by someone who spent her professional life in the British National Health Service (NHS), latterly in a senior clinical capacity for many years until severe ME put an end to her career. For professional and personal reasons she does not wish her own name to be in the public domain.

Malcolm Hooper is Emeritus Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Sunderland in the UK, and is an advocate for ME/CFS patients. He chaired the International Invest in ME Conference in 2008, 2010, and 2011. Professor Hooper is also the Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK National Gulf Veterans Association and President of the NGVFA.

Further Information

A Comprehensive Table with links to all articles between 1986 and 2017, including downloadable pdfs are available at www.margaretwilliams.me/

There is comprehensive INDEX at the bottom of this page. Articles in bold are considered important or significant.