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Where We Left Off: Closing Out Antioxidants and Opening Cardiovascular Health

Wray, Georgia, evening light over the lake. Some weeks get away from you. The vine keeps growing regardless.

We missed a couple of weeks in this series. My son got married, and that took priority over the publishing calendar — no apology needed for that trade, and I’d make it again.

Rather than backfill two posts that have already lost their moment, we’re picking up the series where it matters most: closing out June’s antioxidant theme with the piece that ties it together and opening July with what’s next. If you want the OPC and ellagic acid stack content or the deeper estate-sourcing piece we’d originally planned for mid-June, reach out — we’re happy to send that material directly.

Closing Out Antioxidants: The Sourcing Argument

Everything we covered this month came back to the same point: a defensible antioxidant formula needs a mechanistic story, not just an ORAC number. Ellagic acid, OPCs, resveratrol, and anthocyanins — the muscadine phytochemical profile — connect to documented oxidative stress pathways in published research, including UV-relevant mechanisms studied in human skin cell models.

The sourcing side of that story is just as important as the science. Muscadine Seed Extract and Extract Powder come from Paulk Vineyards, the growing operation — 800+ acres in Wray, Georgia, seventh generation on the farm, fourth generation with muscadines. Muscadine Products Corporation processes everything on-site. No brokers between the vine and the ingredient lot. When a formulator builds a claim on a specific mechanism and a traceable source, that claim holds up in a way a generic antioxidant blend usually doesn’t.

That’s where we left it.

Opening Cardiovascular: Starting With Honest Research

Cardiovascular health is one of the most scrutinized categories in the supplement industry, and it deserves that scrutiny. Claims in this space are held to the real clinical literature more often than in almost any other category because the stakes for consumers are higher.

The most directly relevant published human research on muscadine and cardiovascular outcomes is the Mellen et al. study (Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2010). It’s worth knowing exactly what that study found before we go further into July, because we’re not going to build this month’s content on a study we haven’t represented accurately.

Here’s the honest summary: 50 adults with coronary disease or at least one cardiac risk factor received 1,300 mg of muscadine grape seed supplement daily or placebo for four weeks each in a randomized, double-blind, crossover design. The primary outcome — flow-mediated dilation, a measure of endothelial function — did not show a statistically significant improvement. There was a significant increase in resting brachial artery diameter with muscadine grape seed supplementation, but the study authors explicitly stated that the clinical significance of this finding has not yet been established.

  • Primary endpoint (FMD): not statistically significant
  • Secondary finding (resting brachial diameter): statistically significant increase; clinical significance not established
  • No significant changes in biomarkers of inflammation, lipid peroxidation, or antioxidant capacity
  • Study authors’ conclusion: more research is needed to fully characterize the vascular effects of muscadine and other grape-derived supplements and to determine whether those effects translate into clinical benefit

We’re telling you this upfront because it’s the responsible way to open a month built around cardiovascular claims — and because a cardiovascular ingredient story built on a misread study is the kind of thing that falls apart the moment a retailer’s science team or a practitioner asks a follow-up question. The study does not support a cardiovascular benefit claim for muscadine grape seed supplementation. (These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.) What it does establish is that muscadine grape seed has been studied in a real, peer-reviewed, randomized trial in a cardiovascular risk population. That puts it in different territory than most botanical ingredients marketed for heart health. Most of those have no human trial data to back them up at all.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll delve deeper into that study, the broader polyphenol-vascular research landscape, and how a formulator should approach positioning an ingredient with this kind of research profile — real, peer-reviewed, and not yet conclusive.

If you want the full Mellen study citation and methodology to start that conversation with your R&D team, reach out at muscadineproducts.com.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The Mellen et al. (2010) study examined muscadine grape seed supplementation in subjects with coronary disease or cardiac risk factors; the primary outcome measure did not reach statistical significance, and the clinical significance of the secondary finding has not been established. This research does not constitute evidence of a cardiovascular health benefit. Formulators should consult qualified regulatory counsel before establishing label claims for finished consumer products.   Muscadine Products Corporation  •  Wray, Georgia  •  muscadineproducts.com

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UV Exposure, Oxidative Stress, and What It Means for Your Antioxidant Formula

Early June over the vines in the morning.

Creating a trustworthy antioxidant formula in today’s market can be quite challenging. You often see many claims, but the actual science behind most of them isn’t as clear. If you haven’t considered the role of UV oxidative stress, you might be missing out on addressing one of the most relevant seasonal factors.

UV rays from the sun, particularly UVA and UVB, cause skin to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). These are the same free radicals that antioxidant ingredients aim to combat. The link between UV exposure, oxidative stress, and the value of dietary antioxidant supplements is one of the strongest mechanistic arguments we have. However, many antioxidant formulas don’t target this connection specifically with their choice of ingredients.

Formulators who can clearly connect UV oxidative stress to a particular ingredient’s mechanism will likely stand out in the competitive antioxidant market.

The Mechanism Worth Understanding

UV radiation can cause oxidative stress by penetrating skin tissue and producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) like superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals. These reactive molecules can overwhelm the skin’s natural antioxidant defenses, leading to the damage of lipids, proteins, and DNA. This process results in inflammation, weakened skin barrier, and faster aging—what many people refer to as “sun damage.”

Research has shown that dietary polyphenols such as ellagitannins, proanthocyanidins, and anthocyanins—found in muscadine grapes—may help protect against UV-induced oxidative stress, DNA damage, and skin inflammation through various mechanisms. (Saraf et al., Food & Function, 2017)

This is the kind of scientific understanding your antioxidant product should be based on. Instead of just looking at a single ORAC score, focus on the underlying mechanisms that show how oxidative stress affects the body.

What the Ellagic Acid Research Shows — and Its Limits

Ellagic acid, a natural compound found richly in muscadine skin and seeds, has been carefully studied for its effects on human skin cells, specifically in models using HaCaT cells, which simulate human keratinocytes. In these studies, pre-treating the cells with ellagic acid was shown to lower UVA-induced oxidative stress by reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and activating the body’s natural antioxidant defenses via the Nrf-2 pathway.*

Why Muscadine’s Profile Fits This Application

Muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia) offers a rich combination of beneficial compounds like ellagic acid, OPCs (oligomeric proanthocyanidins), resveratrol, and anthocyanins—all in a single, whole-plant ingredient. Each of these compounds has been highlighted in polyphenol research related to photoprotection. Instead of relying on a single compound, you’re working with a diverse phytochemical profile that influences multiple well-documented mechanisms.

For formulators creating an antioxidant, anti-aging product especially suited for summer use, this profile provides a scientifically backed explanation of how oxidative stress operates—not just a vague claim that the ingredient “fights free radicals.”

The sourcing story further strengthens this. Paulk Vineyards cultivates muscadines on over 800 acres in Wray, Georgia—continuing a seventh-generation family tradition, with the farm being four generations deep in muscadine cultivation. MPC processes all the ingredients right on-site. When your customers ask where the ingredient comes from, you can confidently share a real, transparent answer.

Application Notes

  • Muscadine Skin/Seed Powder and Muscadine Seed Extract are capsule and tablet ingredients. They are insoluble and not appropriate for beverage, RTD, or stick-pack formulations.
  • If your antioxidant formula includes a liquid application, Muscadine Juice Concentrate is the relevant form. It delivers polyphenols in liquid format for RTD and functional beverage applications.
  • For label claim development: the in vitro ellagic acid research supports a mechanistic rationale, not a finished human clinical claim. Work with your regulatory counsel to establish appropriate structure/function language based on the compound-level research and any additional studies your team identifies.

The Honest Summary

The connection between UV exposure, oxidative stress, and dietary polyphenols is one of the more credible mechanistic arguments in the antioxidant supplement category. Muscadine’s ellagic acid content places it directly in the relevant research area. The cell-level science is real and published. The human clinical evidence at the ingredient level isn’t there yet— and we won’t tell you otherwise. What we can tell you is that the science behind muscadine’s profile is more thoroughly documented than that of most antioxidant ingredients we encounter in the market, and the sourcing story is fully traceable. If your R&D team wants the ellagic acid content data and the research citations to start that conversation, reach out at muscadineproducts.com.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Research references cited herein include in vitro cell culture studies and published review literature. Cell-level findings do not establish that a finished supplement product will produce the same effects in humans. Formulators should consult qualified regulatory counsel before establishing label claims for finished consumer products.   Muscadine Products Corporation  •  Wray, Georgia  •  muscadineproducts.com
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Antioxidant Sourcing in Summer: Why June Is When Formulators Should Be Asking Harder Questions

Early June over the vines in the morning.

The antioxidant supplement category has a sourcing problem that peaks in summer.

Not because the science changes — it doesn’t. But because the consumer purchase signal peaks in summer, and that means brands are launching, reformulating, and sourcing in Q2 in a way that creates real pressure on ingredient decisions. The antioxidant supplement market is one of the most crowded shelves in the industry. It’s also one of the categories where the gap between what a label claims and what an ingredient actually delivers is widest.

If your antioxidant formula is going to hold up — with a retailer, with a practitioner, with a consumer reading labels — the sourcing decision matters more than the marketing language. That’s what this month is about.

The Antioxidant Ingredient Credibility Problem

Most antioxidant supplements are built around ORAC scores and vague polyphenol claims. ORAC — oxygen radical absorbance capacity — is a lab measure of antioxidant potential in a test tube. It is not a measure of what happens in the human body after digestion, absorption, and distribution. The FDA actually discouraged the use of ORAC values in food and supplement labeling back in 2012, removing them from its own database. Most of the industry kept using them anyway.

What matters for a formulator who wants a defensible antioxidant ingredient is more specific than a single number: which polyphenol subfractions are present, at what concentrations, with what documented mechanisms, and from what verified source.

We’ve been growing muscadines in Irwin County since 1970 and processing them on-site since the early days of the ingredient market. We’ve watched a lot of antioxidant formulas come and go, and the ones that lose shelf space almost always share the same problem: they were built on a marketing claim that couldn’t answer a simple question from a buyer who knew what to ask.  Muscadine’s answer to those questions is one of the more distinctive in the botanical ingredient market. The phytochemical profile — ellagic acid, OPCs, resveratrol, and anthocyanins — provides multiple antioxidant mechanisms through different documented pathways. That matters for a formulator because it means you’re not staking your entire antioxidant story on a single compound that a competitor can match with a cheaper alternative.

What the Research Shows — Accurately

There is published human research relevant to muscadine and oxidative stress worth knowing about. Ghanim et al. (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2011) studied a combination supplement containing resveratrol and muscadine grape polyphenols. Researchers observed a reduction in oxidative and inflammatory stress markers following a high-fat, high-carbohydrate meal, and noted stimulation of the antioxidant transcription factor Nrf-2.*

Three things to hold onto about that study for formulation purposes:

  • The supplement studied was a combination of resveratrol and muscadine polyphenols — not muscadine extract alone. The muscadine component contributed to the effect; the study design doesn’t isolate it.
  • The study context was a meal challenge — measuring oxidative stress response to a specific dietary insult. That’s a meaningful and real-world relevant context, but it’s different from a general antioxidant supplementation trial in a healthy population.
  • The Nrf-2 activation finding is the most mechanistically interesting part of that study. Nrf-2 is the antioxidant transcription factor that regulates the body’s own antioxidant enzyme systems. That’s a different category of mechanism than basic radical scavenging — and worth understanding if your R&D team is building a differentiated antioxidant formula.

Frame it that way with your regulatory team when you’re evaluating label claim options. The mechanism is real. The evidence is peer-reviewed. The scope is what it is, and your claims need to reflect that scope.

The Polyphenol Profile as a Formulation Asset

Muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia) is structurally distinct from Vitis vinifera — the conventional wine grape most polyphenol ingredients derive from. The ellagic acid concentration in muscadine skin and seed is notably higher than most vinifera comparators. The OPC subfraction profile is structurally different from standard grape seed extract or pine bark, with a different monomer-to-polymer ratio that affects both mechanism and bioavailability questions.

For a formulator building an antioxidant SKU, that profile gives you claims you can actually defend — specific, factual, and not shared by commodity polyphenol ingredients:

  • A distinct botanical species with documented phytochemical differentiation from conventional grape
  • Ellagic acid content relevant to the urolithin-A research area — one of the more active fields in antioxidant and longevity science right now
  • OPCs with a different structural profile than standard GSE
  • A domestic estate supply chain with full lot traceability — not a commodity broker import

Application Notes for June Formulation

Before you spec any of this into a formula, a few things to get right from the start:

  • Muscadine Skin/Seed Powder and Muscadine Seed Extract are not soluble. These are capsule and tablet ingredients only. Do not spec them into a beverage, RTD, or stick pack formula.
  • Muscadine Juice Concentrate is available for liquid antioxidant applications. It delivers polyphenols in liquid form and is appropriate for RTD and functional beverage formulations.
  • Both Skin/Seed Powder and Seed Extract are available with lot-level CoA documentation. If your QA team needs standardized ellagic acid or OPC data for each lot, contact us — we can discuss what’s available.

What’s Coming This Month

The next three weeks cover the UV oxidative stress connection for summer formulas, the OPC and ellagic acid combination as a specific stack, and the estate sourcing story that sits underneath all of it. If you want to get ahead of any of that now — samples, CoA documentation, or a sourcing call — don’t wait.

If you want to get ahead of any of this — samples, technical documentation, or a sourcing conversation — visit muscadineproducts.com.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Research references are cited for informational and educational purposes only. The Ghanim et al. (2011) study examined a combination supplement containing resveratrol and muscadine grape polyphenols in a meal-challenge context; findings should not be extrapolated to muscadine extract alone or to general antioxidant supplementation outcomes. Formulators should consult qualified regulatory counsel before establishing label claims for finished consumer products.   Muscadine Products Corporation  •  Wray, Georgia  •  muscadineproducts.com
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What the Banini Study Actually Shows — and What It Doesn’t

muscaidne vine close up in late spring

Last week, we made a commitment: to tell you what the research on muscadine actually shows, including where it stops. This week, we’re following through.

The Banini study is the most directly relevant published human trial on muscadine and metabolic markers. Here’s exactly what it was, what it found, and where its limits lie.

The Study at a Glance

Banini AE, Boyd LC, Allen JC, Allen HG, and Sauls DL. “Muscadine grape products intake, diet and blood constituents of non-diabetic and type 2 diabetic subjects.” Nutrition, 2006; 22(11–12):1137–1145. North Carolina State University.

ElementDetail
StudyBanini AE et al., Nutrition 2006; 22(11–12):1137–1145
InstitutionNorth Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
DesignNon-randomized, non-blinded dietary intervention; 28 days
PopulationType 2 diabetic subjects (assigned to MJ, MW, or Dz-W) and non-diabetic subjects (juice only)
Intervention150 mL/day of muscadine grape juice (MJ), muscadine grape wine (MW), or dealcoholized muscadine grape wine (Dz-W) with meals
Primary outcomesGlycemic indices, blood glucose, insulin, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), lipid profile, blood constituents
Key findingsDiabetics given MW and Dz-W showed lower blood glucose, insulin, and HbA1c vs. diabetics given MJ. Dz-W group: fasting blood insulin reduced; glucose:insulin ratio improved from 8.5 to 13.1. MJ and MW did not differ in fasting glucose, insulin, or HbA1c in the non-diabetic group.
Study limitationNon-diabetic group received juice only — no wine or Dz-W arm. No placebo control. Cannot compare non-diabetic outcomes to diabetic outcomes across product types.

What It Found

The most meaningful findings came from Type 2 diabetic subjects assigned to muscadine wine and dealcoholized muscadine wine. Compared with diabetics given muscadine juice, those groups had lower blood glucose, insulin, and glycated hemoglobin levels over the 28-day period.

The dealcoholized wine group — the arm most relevant to a supplement context, since alcohol is removed — showed a specific improvement in fasting blood insulin levels. The fasting blood glucose-to-insulin ratio rose from 8.5 to 13.1 over the intervention period. The researchers noted that a ratio below 7 is considered predictive of insulin resistance; the published data showed movement away from that threshold in the T2D group over 28 days.

These are real findings from a real peer-reviewed study in a population where metabolic markers matter most.

What It Doesn’t Show

Here is where we’re going to be direct, because this is where ingredient marketing most often goes wrong.

The non-diabetic subjects in this study received only muscadine juice. There was no wine or dealcoholized wine arm for healthy subjects, and no placebo control for that group. You cannot draw conclusions about muscadine’s effect on healthy adults’ metabolic markers from this study design.

The intervention used whole beverage forms — 150 mL of juice, wine, or dealcoholized wine per day. This is not the same as a standardized extract powder or capsule. The polyphenol dose, bioavailability, and matrix context of a beverage differ from those of an encapsulated ingredient. Extrapolating these findings to a capsule product requires additional research.

28 days is a short intervention window. These findings are a signal worth taking seriously, not a conclusion about long-term metabolic outcomes.

This was not a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled trial — the design most likely to produce generalizable results. The findings are meaningful and peer-reviewed, but the study design has limitations that should inform how confidently you cite it.

Why This Still Matters for Formulators

Here’s why it still matters.

Many metabolic health ingredients have limited or no peer-reviewed human research. Their evidence base often rests on mechanistic rationale — in vitro studies showing that a compound interacts with a relevant pathway in cell culture, which is a long way from a human outcome. The Banini study, with its clearly stated limitations, still places muscadine in a category most competing ingredients cannot enter.

This research also holds up when a retailer or practitioner asks the right question — not “what does your marketing say?” but “what does your best published human study actually show?” We can answer that with a citation, a methodology, and an honest account of what was and wasn’t found. That’s a more defensible position than most suppliers in this category can offer.

The Right Application

Given what this study used, the MPC ingredient form most directly relevant to this research context is Muscadine Juice Concentrate — the beverage-form polyphenol delivery that most closely mirrors what was studied. It is appropriate for liquid supplement applications and functional beverage formulations.

Muscadine Skin/Seed Powder — our encapsulated ingredient form — provides the same phytochemical profile in capsule or tablet applications. It is a non-soluble powder, appropriate for encapsulation, not for beverage blending. The phytochemical case for that form is strong; the direct clinical link to the Banini study is more attenuated, and we will not overstate it.

If your R&D team wants to review the full Banini citation, methodology, and published abstract, contact us and we’ll send them directly. We’d rather put the actual study in front of your team than a polished summary.

Next Week

The series moves to June’s theme: Skin Health / Beauty From Within. We’ll cover Muscadine Seed Oil and Skin Extract — two ingredients with a genuinely differentiated story for cosmetic formulators and ingestible beauty brands. If you want to be ready for that conversation, visit muscadineproducts.com to request a sample or technical documentation.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Research references are cited for informational and educational purposes. The Banini study was conducted in a Type 2 diabetic population using whole beverage forms of muscadine; findings should not be generalized to healthy populations or encapsulated ingredient forms without additional research. Formulators should consult qualified regulatory counsel before establishing label claims for finished consumer products.   Muscadine Products Corporation  •  Wray, Georgia  •  muscadineproducts.com
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The Metabolic Health Supplement Market Has a Credibility Problem. Here’s What Honest Looks Like.

May on the vine in Wray, Georgia. The clusters are just setting. This is what estate-sourced looks like at the source.

If you’ve spent any time sourcing ingredients for the metabolic health category, you already know the problem.

The shelves — and the trade show floors — are full of formulas built on blood sugar and insulin sensitivity claims. Most of them are backed by in vitro studies, animal model data, or industry-sponsored trials that haven’t been independently replicated. A growing number of retailers, practitioners, and sophisticated consumers have noticed. They’re asking harder questions. And brands that built their metabolic formulas on overclaimed evidence are finding those questions uncomfortable to answer.

We’re launching this content series — Formulate with Purpose — because we think the ingredient sourcing conversation in this industry deserves more honesty than it usually gets. Starting here, in one of the categories where that problem is most visible.

What We Mean by Credibility

In the metabolic health ingredient market, credibility has two components that most ingredient marketing conflates: the science and the source.

The science question is: has this ingredient been studied in peer-reviewed human research, with a clearly defined study population, by researchers who weren’t paid by the ingredient supplier? And if so, what did those studies actually find — not what does the marketing summary claim they found?

The source question is: do you know where this ingredient was grown, how it was processed, and who handled it between the farm and your production facility? Or did you buy it from a broker who bought it from a distributor who sourced it from an overseas supplier whose growing practices you’ve never seen?

Both of those questions have uncomfortable answers for a lot of the metabolic health ingredient market right now. We’d rather address that directly than pretend otherwise.

The Muscadine Research: What It Shows and What It Doesn’t

Muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia) has been studied in peer-reviewed human research in a metabolic context. The most directly relevant published study — Banini et al. (Nutrition, 2006) — examined the effects of muscadine grape products on glycemic indices, lipid profiles, and blood constituents over a 28-day period.

The study population matters, and we’re going to tell you exactly what it was: Type 2 diabetic subjects, alongside a non-diabetic comparison group. The researchers observed improvements in several metabolic markers among diabetic subjects who consumed muscadine wine or dealcoholized wine, compared with those given muscadine juice.

That is an interesting finding in a disease-specific population using muscadine in beverage form. It is not evidence that a muscadine extract capsule will improve blood sugar in healthy adults, and we won’t frame it that way. We think you’d respect us less if we did.

What this research does tell us — honestly — is that muscadine polyphenols have been studied in a peer-reviewed human trial in a metabolic context. That puts muscadine in a different tier than metabolic ingredients whose entire evidence base is a cell culture study.

The Phytochemical Case

Muscadine contains ellagic acid, oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPCs), resveratrol, and anthocyanins in documented concentrations. These compounds have been studied in nutritional science for their potential roles in supporting various physiological functions.*

The ellagic acid concentration in muscadine skin and seed is notably high compared to most vinifera-derived comparators — a documented analytical fact, not a marketing claim. The OPC subfraction profile is structurally distinct from conventional grape seed or pine bark extract, which affects both the mechanism and bioavailability questions that your R&D team should be asking.

We’ll go deeper on the compound-level science in the weeks ahead. For now, the point is this: the phytochemical profile gives formulators a mechanistic rationale for why muscadine is worth investigating. It is not, by itself, a finished clinical credential for a label claim.

The Sourcing Case

Here is where we can speak without any qualification at all.

Paulk Vineyards grows muscadines on more than 800 acres of estate farmland in Wray, Georgia in Irwin County. Seventh-generation family farming. Muscadine Products Corporation produces all of the ingredients on our family farm. We own the land, we run the harvest, and we process the fruit on-site. There are no brokers between the vine and the ingredient lot. This is family-owned & operated.

Every production run carries full lot traceability. We can document the growing practices, the harvest date, the processing method, and the analytical results for every lot we ship. If your QA team asks where the ingredient came from, we can show them, not just tell them.

In a market where most botanical ingredients pass through three or four broker hands before they reach a production facility — with origin documentation that ranges from thin to nonexistent — a fully traceable, domestic, estate-grown supply chain is not a small thing. It’s increasingly the difference between a brand story that holds up and one that doesn’t.

What’s Coming in This Series

Every week, this series will cover one topic relevant to formulators and ingredient buyers sourcing in the functional nutrition market: published research, sourcing frameworks, ingredient science, application guidance, and supply chain considerations.

We will tell you what the research shows. We will also tell you what it doesn’t show. We think that combination — honest science plus traceable sourcing — is what the market actually needs more of right now.

If you’d like to request a sample or review technical documentation, visit muscadineproducts.com. We’ll start with the data.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Research references are cited for informational and educational purposes. Clinical research findings reflect what was observed in the referenced study population and do not guarantee individual results. Formulators should consult qualified regulatory counsel before establishing label claims for finished consumer products.   Muscadine Products Corporation  •  Wray, Georgia  •  muscadineproducts.com