People often ask why our products are in a lozenge form. Lozenges sound a bit old-fashioned when pitted against the vast array of capsules available. Well, here’s the story.
When we started Zestt, our first product was a liquid respiratory product, called EXhale, now available in an improved formulation as Zestt Breathe+ (in both liquid and lozenge forms).
We got so much positive feedback about the liquid and still do; it sells well and many of our customers have been with us since the start. However, we did have people say to us that they found the liquid a hassle; it was harder to transport and a bit messy, so we started to evaluate other options.
We did a lot of experimentation with drying technologies to ensure we didn’t lose bioactivity of our ingredients and finally hit the right process. I was pretty excited about this and shared the information with a long-time science mentor, Dr Peter Fennessy. I said we were looking to put the liquid into a dried capsule form, but we were worried about a key aspect:
Feedback from customers highlighted how much they loved the speed at which the liquid took effect; they could notice a difference in reduced coughing and improved breathing within twenty minutes. This indicated that some of the bioactives were being absorbed into the bloodstream before they reached the stomach, which is beneficial because stomach acid can reduce their bioactivity. The most likely way this occurred was through the bioactives being absorbed in the mouth, in a process known as sublingual absorption. We were concerned about losing this process by transitioning to a capsule, which bypasses the mouth and puts our precious bioactives into the harsh stomach environment more quickly.
Pete said to me, “Why don’t you develop a lozenge?” It was like a bingo moment and I came back excitedly to tell Darcy, who then realised this meant we could also incorporate oral probiotics. And so the Zestt lozenge was born and here we are today!
How does sublingual absorption work?
The area under the tongue (the sublingual mucosa) is rich in capillaries, tiny blood vessels that enable fast exchange between tissues and the bloodstream. When a lozenge slowly dissolves, bioactive compounds are released into saliva and come into direct contact with these permeable membranes.
Unlike swallowing a pill, this route bypasses the stomach and liver’s “first-pass” metabolism, where enzymes and gastric acid can degrade compounds before they ever reach circulation. This means:
- Faster onset of action; nutrients can enter the bloodstream in minutes rather than hours.
- Higher bioavailability; more of the active compound reaches your system intact.
- Gentler on the digestive tract; particularly useful for people with gut sensitivities or reduced absorption capacity.
Of course, you can experience the difference yourself 😁 Discover our innovative lozenges, designed to deliver powerful, natural bioactives fast.