The health nutrition market has been experiencing sustained growth (over 5% per year for more than 10 years), driven by the rise of natural solutions and increasing demand for solid scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of plant extracts. To address these challenges, Activ’Inside, a French company specialising in health nutrition, and the MIB (Molecules of Biological Interest) team from the UMR 1366 Oenology research unit at the University of Bordeaux — a world-renowned reference in polyphenol research — officially inaugurated their joint laboratory, BIOPHYSA, on 14 January 14 2026.
Located within the Institute of Vine and Wine Sciences (ISVV) in Villenave d’Ornon (France), BIOPHYSA is the first centre of excellence entirely dedicated to the BIOavailability of PHYtonutrients and their health-related metabolites. This strategic partnership is supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR) and the University of Bordeaux.
Accelerating innovation in health nutrition
BIOPHYSA aims to strengthen the scientific understanding of the effectiveness of plant-derived nutrients (phytonutrients). The laboratory will develop advanced analytical tools and innovative in vitro models to study the bioavailability of these phytonutrients — namely, the proportion that is actually absorbed and utilised by the body — a parameter that remains insufficiently explored within the nutraceutical industry.
Its research activities will focus on three major scientific areas:
- Bioactive compound analysis: development of analytical methods using state-of-the-art tools such as Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-MS), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and others, to measure, characterise, and quantify molecules of interest present in plant extracts, as well as their metabolites formed during digestion and detected in blood and biological tissues.
- Bioavailability studies: investigation of absorption and metabolic mechanisms through in vitro and ex vivo approaches along the entire digestive tract, including the study of interactions between phytonutrients and food matrices.
- Health benefit evaluation: assessment of the efficacy of plant extracts and their optimised formulations using in vitro, ex vivo, and clinical-study-derived samples.
A unique approach: from bioavailable ingredients to clinical efficacy
BIOPHYSA embodies Activ’Inside’s founding principle — “Science inside, Claims outside” — which asserts that health benefits should only be communicated when they are firmly supported by scientific evidence. An ingredient is therefore considered effective only if it is both biologically active and clinically validated.
Through this shared research platform, Activ’Inside will be able to directly confirm and quantify the absorption, metabolic pathways, and physiological effects of its active ingredients. This integrated approach — from targeted extraction to clinical validation — will enable the development of scientifically optimized formulations that meet the growing market demand for both naturality and performance.
Dietary supplement manufacturers using these active ingredients will thus benefit from a unique value proposition: credible, differentiated nutritional solutions supported by robust scientific evidence derived from academic research.
