Indena has been working on bilberry extract since the early seventies. Along the years our company has strived for quality and today its standardized extract is the point of reference for the market. Here Indena retraces the history of a big research, production and market success.

• 1970: Indena initiates its research into a standardized bilberry extract, first named Myrtocyan^® "Bilberry 25% dry extract".
• 1976: Indena registers a medicinal specialty that soon becomes the world's best-selling OTC bilberry product.
• 1980: Indena's product enters the dietary supplements market under the Mirtoselect^® brand name and becomes the reference bilberry extract.
• 2004: a new dedicated state-of-the-art production facility for Mirtoselect^® is inaugurated at Indena's Settala site. It processes up to 26.000kg of bilberries a day, and has an annual production capacity of more than 45 tons of extract.
• 2005: Indena valitates an HPLC analysis method that quantifies all the anthocyanins present in both plant material and in extracts and is able to detect anthocyanins extracts produced from different plant materials (raspberry, blackberry, black currant, elder-berry, etc.). This method represents a standard reference for the main pharmacopeias.
• 2006: Indena files a new logo that guarantees the consistency and quality of Mirtoselect^®. This may also be used by Indena customers who want to reassure consumers about the quality of the active ingredients they use.
• 2007: the new Mirtoselect^® web site is online.
• Almost 50 peer-reviewed papers have been published on Indena's standardized bilberry extract since the early seventies. They demonstrate its quality, safety and efficacy.