BASF India : Newtrition Asia Research Grant 2018 winners to run clinical studies to address obesity in Asia

• BASF awards a total of €200,000 to five researchers from China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore to support research on health concerns of Asian consumers
• Two of the researchers will study the effects of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) from BASF on 200 overweight and obese adults

Singapore - October 9, 2018 - Newtrition^®, BASF's human nutrition brand, today announced the five winners of the 2018 Newtrition Asia Research Grant. With the grant amount of €40,000 each, they will focus on the scientific research of three main topics most relevant for Asian-Pacific demographics: cardiovascular health, metabolic health, and physical function and mobility.

In particular, grant recipients from the Xi'an Jiaotong University's School of Public Health and the Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia will embark on two separate clinical studies in the next 18 months. They will study the effects of BASF's CLA on 200 overweight and obese adults in an effort to address this pressing health concern among Asian consumers.

There is clinical evidence that supplementation with CLA can help reduce body fat percentage and maintain lean body mass, helping to prevent fat regain¹. CLA is a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid which is naturally found in ruminant meat and milk, formed from linoleic acid in the rumen.

The World Health Organization has identified a raised body mass index of more than 25 as a major risk factor for noncommunicable disease such as cardiovascular diseases, Type-2 diabetes and musculoskeletal disorders among others. With approximately three in ten adults in China, Indonesia and Singapore classified as overweight or obese by the WHO in 2016², these two studies are wholly aligned with the objective of the Newtrition Asia Research Grant to advance scientific research in health and nutritional topics relevant for Asian-Pacific demographics.

'The rise of obesity in this part of the world is a result of rapid economic, demographic and epidemiological changes. This grant program is a way in which BASF can influence the nutritional transitions through science, to deliver on our commitment of providing the right nutrients to the right people at the right time,' said Stefan Ruedenauer, Global Director Research and Development and Scientific Marketing, BASF Human Nutrition. 'It offers an opportunity for a three-way collaboration among customers, academics and BASF in order to achieve the best possible outcomes for these development projects,' he added.

Each year, recipients of the Newtrition Asia Research Grant are chosen based on demanding selection criteria which include a panel review by a team of health experts as well as BASF's scientific advisory committee. BASF announced the five winners for the 6th edition of the grant in the presence of more than a hundred local and international guests from government agencies as well as leading health and nutrition companies.

The 2018 grant recipients and their respective research topics are as follows:

1. Dr. Liu Xin, Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, China: The effects of supplementation of conjugated linoleic acid on body fat reduction in overweight or obesity Chinese adults: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial

2. Dr. Fiastuti Witjaksono, Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia: Conjugated linoleic acid combined with nutrition counseling on body weight, body fat mass, and inflammatory status in overweight and obese adults

3. Dr. Kim Jung Eun, Food Science & Technology Programme, c/o Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore: Impact of co-consuming a plant sterols-enriched food product with a healthy eating pattern diet on endothelial function and blood pressure management in individuals with metabolic syndrome

4. Dr. Mary Chong Foong Fong, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR, Singapore & SSH School of Public Health, National University of Singapore: Relationships of maternal carotenoids, vitamin E and fatty acids with metabolic health in women during pregnancy and after childbirth

5. Dr. Mahenderan Appukutty, University of Teknologi MARA, Selangor, Malaysia: The effect of co-administration of omega-3 fatty acids and probiotics (lactobacillus casei) in improving stress, inflammatory and immune response amount athletes

For more information on the Newtrition Asia Research Grant program, please visit nutrition.basf.com/en/Human-nutrition/Cooperations.html

⁽¹⁾Kim et al., 2015; Gaullier et al., 2004, 2005; Chen et al., 2012
⁽²⁾WHO Global Health Observation (GHO) Datahttp://apps.who.int/gho/data/view.main.GLOBAL2461A?lang=en
32.3%, 3 in 10 adults in China are overweight (Defined as BMI > 25)
28.2%, 3 in 10 adults in Indonesia are overweight (Defined as BMI > 25)
31.8%, 3 in 10 adults in Singapore are overweight (Defined as BMI > 25)

About the BASF Nutrition & Health division

BASF Nutrition & Health provides a comprehensive product and service portfolio for the human and animal nutrition, pharmaceutical and flavor & fragrance industries. With innovative solutions and modern technologies, we help our customers improve their business efficiency and the sustainability of their products. Our human nutrition solutions include vitamins and carotenoids, plant sterols, emulsifiers and omega-3 fatty acids. Vitamins and carotenoids also form an important part of our animal nutrition portfolio, as do other feed additives such as trace elements, enzymes and organic acids. We provide the pharmaceutical industry with a broad range of excipients and selected large-volume active pharmaceutical ingredients such as ibuprofen and omega-3 fatty acids. Furthermore, we offer aroma ingredients such as citral, geraniol and L-menthol. BASF Nutrition & Health operates sites in Europe, North America, South America and in Asia-Pacific. For more information, go to www.nutrition.basf.com.

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The more than 115,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of €64.5 billion in 2017. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at www.basf.com.