Scientific basis

Since 1993, the Dutch company The Ortho Company BV has been marketing food supplements under the brand name Plantina. The products are developed exclusively in the Netherlands by the Ortho Institute, established in 1983 by pharmacist Dr. Gert E. Schuitemaker. This fact makes Plantina unique.

The Ortho Institute closely monitors developments in the field of nutrition and health. International scientific literature is reviewed intensively, on a daily basis. The institute guarantees that the formulae of the various Plantina products are adjusted as soon as new scientific developments occur.

The Ortho Institute has for years been the leading centre of knowledge in the field of orthomolecular science in the Netherlands. The term ‘orthomolecular’ was introduced in 1968 in the magazine Science by twice Nobel Prize winner Prof. Dr. Linus Pauling. He defined orthomolecular medicine as the prevention and treatment of disease by providing the organs with the optimum molecular environment, in particular the optimum concentrations of substances normally present in the human body.

Dr. Gert E. Schuitemaker introduced orthomolecular medicine to the Netherlands in the early nineteen eighties. During his pharmaceutical studies, he became interested in this new branch of medical science. Schuitemaker believes that above all for chronic diseases, it is important to first examine the extent to which food and nutrients in the optimum dosage can help the patient, before medicines or other medical treatments are employed.

As well as being director of the Ortho Institute, Schuitemaker is also editor-in-chief of the magazines Ortho and Fit met Voeding (Fit through Nutrition). He is also the author of a number of books including the best seller The Golden Book for Health. Schuitemaker is president of the International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine (ISOM), based in Toronto. In 2004, he obtained his Doctor’s degree in Medicine at the University of Maastricht on the basis of a population survey into the risk factors for cardiovascular disease.