The product, 10-hydroxy-cis-12-octadecenoic acid (HYA®), had originally been detected as a metabolite of dietary lipids and fatty acids by intestinal bacteria by the group of Jun OGAWA at Kyoto University. Further research at Nitto Pharmaceutical Co. had shown that this fatty acid inhibits the rise of postprandial blood glucose levels. A process has been developed by Noster Co., a subsidiary of Nitto Co., and supported by NEDO, producing HYA®-50 by reacting naturally occurring vegetable oil with lactic acid bacteria at high density, thus reducing the environmental impact of the production process and positioning HYA®-50 as a “green bioproduct”.

NEDO news release, January 19, 2021