Momentum Public Relations
Press Release: May 16, 2019
Mondias Naturals Inc. (“Mondias” or the “Company”) (TSXV: NHP) is pleased to announce the results from research on the use of its proprietary CELEXT07 bio-defense stimulant plant extract on hops plants, conducted in collaboration with McGill University.
Global hops production is expected to grow by 3.3% to 122,767 metric tons in 2019 (Source: IHGC – Economic Commission Summary Reports, April 26, 2019). Hops production in the United States alone reached a record high of US$618 million in 2017, up 24% from US$498 million in 2016 (Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture). The global hops market is driven by increasing demand for hops in alcoholic beverages, medicinal drugs and cosmetic formulations. Over the next five years, increased demand for various flavours in beer such as pilsner or lager and the rise in popularity for hop-based craft beer are major factors that will significantly fuel the growth of the global hops market (Source: Persistence Market Research).
The objective of the current series of tests was to measure CELEXT07’s efficacy in suppressing and preventing diseases on hops plants. Hops is a genus belonging to the same taxonomic family as cannabis. Mondias’ latest experiments on cannabis and hops served as proof-of-concept of the efficacy of the Company’s botanicals in plant protection and increasing plant survival by eliciting induced resistance.
Summary of the test results:
- Foliar applications of CELEXT07 bio-defense stimulant extract were very effective in suppressing grey mould (caused by Botrytis cinerea) infections on hops, with decreases of 86% in disease severity and 67% in disease incidence.
- A scheduled dose split over three days for the soil drench application of CELEXT07 also proved effective for the prevention/suppression of grey mould on hops, with decreases of 31% in disease severity and up to 50% in disease incidence.
- Foliar and soil drench application of CELEXT07 did not have any phytotoxic effect on hops.
“These latest results continue to confirm that CELEXT07 is very effective in suppressing and preventing a wide range of fungal and bacterial pathogens, and has applications in more than one large market,” said Jean-Philippe Gravel, Chief Executive Officer of Mondias. “As mentioned in our last release, Mondias has secured the production capacity needed to meet demand from potential clients. CELEXT07 is ready to market and we are presently looking at selling our product through various sales channels and markets, including the agriculture, horticulture, cannabis and hops markets.”
With post-harvest losses of one-third of the food produced worldwide for human consumption (Gastavsson et al., 2011) and annual economic losses of $10 billion to $100 billion worldwide due to grey mould and powdery mildew (L. Hua et al., 2018), the market potential for CELEXT07 is considerable.
About Mondias Natural Products Inc.
Mondias specializes in the commercialization and development of evidence-based botanical products for the health care, bio-agriculture and organic markets. The company sells both oral and topical botanical agents to help manage unmet medical needs through its Holizen Laboratories division. Mondias is also developing botanical-based specialty fertilizers for use on household plants, lawns and golf courses and in urban gardens, nurseries and greenhouses, in collaboration with McGill’s Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
For more information, visit: www.mondias.ca