Dr. Luke Zhang reports

GLG PATENTS NEW REBAUDIOSIDE C SEEDLING WITH 600% MORE REBAUDIOSIDE C THAN TRADITIONAL STEVIA PLANTS -- PAVES THE WAY FOR HIGH VOLUME / LOWER COST NATURAL REBAUDIOSIDE C EXTRACTS

GLG Life Tech Corp. has made a major agricultural breakthrough, one that could revolutionize the global food and beverage industry's ability to utilize naturally sourced rebaudioside C. Through GLG's development of its H6 seedling using its non-GMO patented breeding methodology, the GLG agriculture team has developed a new strain containing remarkably high levels of reb C glycosides. Historically, conventional stevia leaf has had reb C concentrations of around 1 per cent. Now, GLG's H6 strain contains reb C concentrations verging on 7 per cent. Lab tests show that reb C makes up 53 per cent of the glycosides in the H6 leaf, compared with values of 6 per cent to 8 per cent in other strains of stevia leaf -- a 600-per-cent increase.

What makes GLG's H6 seedling even more special is its high rebaudioside A content. Reb C (53 per cent) and reb A (41 per cent) alone constitute very near 95 per cent of the total steviol glycosides in the leaf. Reb C and reb A are two of the best-tasting glycosides in the leaf. Moreover, the H6 strain has TSG levels nearing 13 per cent of leaf content, which is on the high end for stevia leaf in the market today.

This is an astounding leap forward in the natural, non-GMO agronomic development of the historically scarcer steviol glycosides; one that GLG expects will have a major impact on the stevia market as it exists today. Reb A is predominant in today's stevia market, even with the issue of its bitter aftertaste; the introduction of reb C in large-scale quantities, with its better flavour profile, could turn the market on its ear. Reb C, along with rebaudioside D and rebaudioside M (also known as reb X), have the most desirable flavour profiles, whether relative to or as used in conjunction with the industry-dominant reb A. However, each of these scarcer glycosides has historically occurred in such low concentrations that processing costs to extract and purify them on a commercial scale were virtually prohibitive. Reb C, at the low levels at which it previously occurred, is especially costly to process to a high level of purity, and there has been insufficient supply to meet market demand. But with GLG's development of the H6 strain and its much higher natural concentrations of reb C, these cost and processing challenges will be greatly mitigated, thus enabling production of high-purity reb C at costs comparable to that of high-purity reb A and at volumes the market requires.

GLG has filed for patent protection for its H6 seedling. This new seedling was developed by the GLG agriculture team through its wholly owned Chinese subsidiary -- Anhui Bengbu HN Stevia High Tech Development Co. Ltd. Dr. Luke Zhang, chief executive officer and chairman of GLG, commented: "This is a milestone development in GLG's 15-plus years of development and innovation in stevia agronomics. To the best of GLG's knowledge, there is no other seedling available in the market today that comes anywhere close to having the reb C levels found in GLG's H6 seedling. GLG has previously worked with reb C in product formulation; reb C has shown to be favourable in terms of flavour profile and as a sweetening agent."

Additionally, earlier this year, GLG filed its GRAS application with the FDA for high-purity reb C, with purity levels ranging from 80 per cent to 95 per cent (GRN 536), to be used as a sweetener. GLG is the first company to have filed for GRAS status for reb C. GLG has also filed patents covering both purification of and formulation applications using reb C. GLG plans on marketing its high-purity reb C sweetener products under the trade name "Reb C Gold."

GLG is known in the industry for having developed the best high reb A stevia seeds and seedlings, with its H3 and H4 varieties generating 65 per cent to 70 per cent reb A glycoside content (relative to TSG) and 30 per cent to 40 per cent larger stevia plants than the typical stevia plant grown in China. GLG has also developed its H5 high-STV variety, containing more than 70 per cent STV content (relative to TSG). With this latest success, GLG plans to build on its agricultural commercialization expertise by implementing the new H6 seedling in the spring of 2015 in a limited capacity, with full commercial-scale implementation commencing in 2016.

With the successful development of H3, H4, H5 and now H6 seeds and seedlings through its patented natural breeding technologies, GLG is continuing to focus on making similar advances toward the commercial viability of high-purity reb D and reb M. Programs are already under way toward the development of GLG's high reb D seedling. The development of a new variety targeting high amounts of reb M also commenced in 2014.

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