Guzen Launches Vegan-Friendly, Whole-Food Vitamin D

Derived from white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), the mushroom vitamin D ingredient is 100% powder and not an extract. It can be processed into tablets, capsules, powders, and even packaged foods, including soups, sauces and mushroom chips.

23 April 2012 --- Guzen Development (Walnut Creek, CA) is answering the growing vitamin D market by launching a whole-food, vegan-friendly source of vitamin D2 from mushrooms.

Derived from white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), the mushroom vitamin D ingredient is 100% powder and not an extract. It can be processed into tablets, capsules, powders, and even packaged foods, including soups, sauces and mushroom chips.

When it comes to dietary supplements, vitamin D is a common area of concern for vegans and vegetarians. Products fortified with vitamin D usually use vitamin D3, traditionally sourced from lanolin (sheep’s wool). Lifestyle-abiding vegans and vegetarians must seek out plant-based vitamin D2.

“According to recent studies, vitamin D2 has been shown to be as effective as vitamin D3 in maintaining circulating concentration of 1, 25-hydroxyvitamin D,” says Guzen Development president and CEO Vincent Hackel. “When humans consume either vitamin D2 or vitamin D3, they are biologically converted into the hormone 1, 25 hydroxyvitamin D.”

The company says its vitamin D mushroom powder is also a source of riboflavin, niacin, cooper, beta-glucans, and the antioxidant ergothioneine. Ergothioneine has demonstrated potential to support UV ray protection and free-radical scavenging.