Business Wire - February 7, 2002

"There are many immune supplements available in Africa, but very few of these products ever make a significant impact on improving a person's health and quality of life while they endure a life-threatening disease," said Prof. Bouic who has spent the past 15 years studying plant sterols and sterolins and the role they play in the body to improve immune system function.

Prof. Bouic's research studies have been published in several medical journals and he is credited for discovering the correct ratio of plant sterols and sterolins needed to balance an overactive or underactive immune system. He says his research proves the correct ratio is 100:1, a combination that is used in a patented nutritional supplement called Moducare.

"The ratio is the most crucial step in mixing the plant sterols and sterolins," said Prof. Bouic. "It's during the extraction process that most manufactures will lose the correct ratio because the sterolins are a very fragile molecule and can easily be destroyed during the process." Without the proper combination of sterols and sterolins, Prof. Bouic says, a supplement will have little or no effect on balancing the immune system.

Plant sterols are well known in the United States, although many Americans may be unaware that they are ingesting this phytonutrient. Plant sterols can be found in foods such as margarines and yogurts with labels promoting lowering cholesterol capabilities, since this is one of its many benefits. It can also be found naturally in plant sources such as peanuts, beans and some oils. But it is the combination of plant sterols and sterolins that is difficult for food and supplement manufacturers to replicate.

The proprietary blend of plant sterols and sterolins created at Stellenbosch University are extracted from pine and are available in supplement form under the name Moducare. In Africa, the name Moducare is as common as saying Ziploc or Xerox in the United States. Prof. Bouic is now looking to receive more support from the U.S. scientific community to fund collaborative studies in this country that he says could help many Americans with health related lifestyle disorders.

"In Africa Moducare is used to help people survive a life-threatening disease because in my country there are no affordable drugs for HIV," said Prof. Bouic. "However, the same supplement can also benefit Americans who tend to have a high prevalence of lifestyle health related disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and allergies."

Prof. Bouic is in the United States during the month of February to present his latest preliminary study results on the effects of plant sterols and sterolins on rheumatoid arthritis. His results show how the phytonutrients help alleviate inflammation and pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis, a condition caused by an overactive immune system that in turn destroys healthy tissue in the body. Plant sterols and sterolins are being recognized as one of the most important phytonutrients for immune health. Currently, there are over 4,000 scientific and medical studies on these plant nutrients. Review articles from some of these studies can be found at http://www.moducare.com.

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