Sami Labs Limited, Sabinsa's research and manufacturing arm based in Bangalore, India, currently has four manufacturing facilities in that area. These include production facilities for bulk extracts and specialty chemicals, a fermentation unit, tissue culture laboratories and a supercritical fluid extraction facility.

To meet the increasing demand for Sabinsa's branded phytonutrient ingredients

as well as the growing interest in custom synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and aroma chemicals worldwide, three new manufacturing facilities have been added to the company's infrastructure. These facilities specifically dedicated to phytonutrients, APIs and aroma chemicals are scheduled to become operational in July/August 2005. In addition, three new production units -one for specialty fine chemicals and two for phytochemicals/ plant-based extracts are expected to be operational in the second quarter of 2006.

"Although APls now constitute less than 10 percent of our sales, it is certainly a high-growing segment for us," says Sendhil Pani , manager special projects, marketing, with Sabinsa. "The new facilities will be used to increase manufacturing capacity for selected phytonutrients, other nutritional ingredients and aroma chemicals, as well as add to our capabilities in custom synthesis for the pharmaceutical market."

The core of Sabinsa 's strength in custom synthesis is the company's expertise in phytochemistry. As summarized by Sendhil Pani "Our technological ability to isolate active ingredients from natural sources is the key. Once identified, isolated and purified, these compounds are used as the basis of nutritional ingredients. But we can also isolate those actives as a pharmaceutical ingredient or intermediate and employ our capabilities in chemical process and development to manufacture those compounds." Included in this list are chiral amino acids, other chiral molecules, seleno amino acids, heterocyclic compounds, peptides and steroidal compounds.