The Mintel global new products database displays that food, beverage and personal annoyance companies compass introduced almost 70 per cent more new products over the past year, but sales have risen just 4.7 per cent on the same period. In the 2007 calendar year there were 6472 new products, up from 3825 in 2006 and 3408 in 2005.

The products include all packaged goods, from shampoo to ready meals, cereal, baby goods and pet food.

Chris Meredith is a retail novelty consultant who has advised multinational conglomerates in the food, mobile phone and banking sectors, including Unilever, the convention endure Roadway ice-cream, Bertolli pasta relish and Bushells tea.

He said fresh effect face were just helping society keep up with rivals. He said few products were innovative enough to leapfrog rivals with rates of sales growth above the market average.

Simply releasing new fragrances, flavours and packaging formats was not enough to urge shoppers to fill their trolleys more than before, Mr Meredith, from the Leading Column consultancy, said.

Companies across a wide variety of products had merely jumped on the environmentally friendly and healthy-living bandwagons in the past year, but had neglected to create innovative products that shoppers actually wanted to buy, he said. In the food market they are captivating everything they can think of elsewhere of products.

Fats are coming out, additives are thriving absent and vitamins are going in but it is not generating bazaar growth." The themes that are emerging in non-food:

Each wants to feel allying they are doing their bit for the environment.

But the discouraging thing is neither of those possession are delivering meaningful mart growth."

The listed bottler Coca-Cola Amatil illustrated this when the new no-sugar Zero drink cannibalised the drinkers of its stablemates Diet Coke and Coke "about 50 per cent", according to its manager executive, Terry Davis.

Mr Meredith said successful virgin products needed to both fill a gap in the market and react to consumer needs by going outside on a limb with a recent service. He pointed to the pay television company Foxtel's IQ live digital recorder and the internet auction site Greys as good examples.

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From http://business.smh.com.au/food-cannibalises-itself-new-prod~.html

Herbal product silymarin (milk thistle) does not move the hepatitis C virus (HCV) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in the blood, say researchers.

The findings are based on a comparison between clinical data of silymarin owner and non-users, gathered wound up a examine of patients with chronic hepatitis C.

All patients in the survey were those who had participated in a National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases-sponsored long-term treatment test for patients who had failed to respond previously to antiviral therapy.

The researchers asked participants about their past and current apply of all prescription and non-prescription drugs, including herbal medications, dietary supplements and other botanical products. Of 1145 study participants, 56 percent said that they had never used herbal products, while 23 percent were using them currently, some 60 different varieties. Silymarin was by far the most common.

Upon comparing the clinical information of silymarin users and non-users, the researchers found that "the levels of HCV RNA were not significantly contradistinctive between silymarin users and non-users," indicating no chain reaction on virus activity. The product did not still alter serum ALT levels, indicating no effect on hepatic inflammation.

The authors further observed that silymarin purchaser reported less fatigue, nausea, liver pain, anorexia, muscle and joint pain and better general form than non-users.

However, they insist that the exceeding scores in a small number of symptoms among silymarin users compared to non-users are insufficient to help the value of this alternative therapy.

According to them, compelling information can approach only if a scientifically valid glance at is performed.

Currently in progress, therefore, is a properly designed prospective, randomized, controlled trial in which a fully characterized, purified and standardized silymarin formulation is being evaluated," they report. The study has been published in Hepatology, a journal published near Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

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From http://topnews.in/herbal-drug-silymarin-does-not-affect-hepa~

Accepted release date: 1-Feb-2008 E-mail Article Contact:

Amy Molnar amolnar wiley.com Wiley-Blackwell Silymarin does not affect virus labor or ALT levels in In a survey of patients with chronic hepatitis C who participated in a National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases-sponsored long-term care of evaluation championing patients who had failed to respond previously to antiviral therapy, sorrounding 40% acknowledged to interviewers at the time of enrollment that they were currently using or had in the recent recent used herbal issue for health purposes.

Among those who were or had used alternative therapies, silymarin (milk thistle) was the product of election either on its own or together with other herbal products, representing 72% of all the herbals taken.

These findings are in the February issue of Hepatology, a magazine published next to Wiley & Sons on in one's behalf for of the American Association for the Announce of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

The article was also available online at Wiley Interscience ( http:

Still, in comparing users with non-users, while no difference was establish for blood ALT or HCV levels between the two groups, the herbal users did announcement somewhat fewer symptoms and a better standard of life.

The current recommended treatment of behaviour towards for patients with HCV infection is mixture therapy with pegylated interferon and ribavirin.

However, it leads to a sustained virological retort in one a third to a half of all patients with the predominant form of the infection in the U.S., 1, and it can cause unpleasant and sometimes serious margins effects.

The impetus for interviewing enrollees in the trial was to determine the extent of handle of alternative therapies in this committed group, since the popularity of herbal output has increased in the U.S., HCV patients choosing to supplement, or even replace, the standard treatment with herbals.

Silymarin (milk thistle extract) has been the most common option for mankind with liver disease. For the present survey, researchers interviewed all HALT-C sharer on past and current use of all formula and non-prescription drugs, including herbal medications, dietary supplements and other botanical products.

Of 1145 study participants, 56 percent said that they had never hand-me-down herbal products, while 23 percent were using them currently, some 60 antithetic varieties. Silymarin was by far the most common. Usage was higher among men, in the midst non-Hispanic whites, and among the more highly educated.

Interestingly, the researchers also found geographic disparities in silymarin usage. It was most popular in Colorado, Michigan and Southern California and least popular in Maryland and Massachusetts.

In comparing the clinical data of silymarin users and non-users, the researchers found that "the levels of HCV RNA were not significantly disparate between silymarin users and non-users," indicating no backwash on virus activity. Similarly, the product did not alter serum ALT levels, indicating no effect on hepatic inflammation.

However, after adjusting for covariates, the data showed that silymarin users reported less fatigue, nausea, liver pain, anorexia, muscle and joint despondency and better general health than non-users.

The better scores in a meager figure of symptoms middle silymarin users compared to non-users are inadequate to support the value of this alternative therapy, the authors conclude. Compelling information can come only if a scientifically valid study is performed.

Currently in progress, therefore, is a properly designed prospective, randomized, controlled trial in which a fully characterized, purified and standardized silymarin formulation is being evaluated," they report.

From http://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-02/w-sdn020108.php