New health water made in Blacksburg hits the market New health water created in Blacksburg hits the market (copy)

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A Blacksburg company has launched a new health water that it says acts as a tummy tonic.

Pervida began showing up in local stores in May and cases can now be purchased on Amazon and through the company's website, http://www.pervida.net/.

Pervida was developed by Josep Bassaganya-Riera, director of the Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory at the Biocomplexity Institute of Virginia Tech.

Bassaganya-Riera has been working with plant hormones, abscisic and punicic acids, to develop medicine to treat Crohn's and inflammatory bowel diseases through his biotech startup, BioTherapeutics. While his compounds are in the pipeline it could be several more years before the completion of clinical trials and approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

So he decided to launch a parallel company, Pervida, with a line of nutritional products that rely on the same gut-healing benefits.

The first product is a health water infused with punicic acid, which is found in pomegranate seed oil. It has a mild citrus flavor.

Bassaganya-Riera said he is thrilled with the company's first product, which went through focus groups and reformulations until they hit on what he describes as a "fresh, crispy taste with citrus flavor." The water is infused with vitamins, antioxidants and pomegranate seed oil. It does not contain sugar, artificial flavors or sweeteners and logs in at zero calories.

Six cans were delivered to The Roanoke Times' newsroom to sample; reaction was mixed. Some liked it, some panned it and one writer who has gut problems said he'd drink it if it helped, but he'd like it better if it had more flavor.

All samplers thought it would mix well with gin or vodka, though they also wondered whether adding alcohol would dilute its healing properties.

Not to worry, said Bassaganya-Riera: "We absolutely love that it's a great mixer."

Alcohol disrupts the gut, he said, so the key is to avoid mixers that cause additional inflammation or that have sugar that alters insulin levels. Pervida's antioxidants and hydration power could counter alcohol's effects.

He said that Pervida's role in improving gut health also helps the immune system.

"If your gut is out of sync, you have an inability to fight diseases and it increases the risk for infections," he said.

To benefit from its healing powers, he suggests two cans a day.

The company placed an initial order for 20,000 cans with plans to up that to 200,000 cans once sales take off. Consumers can purchase them at $2.99 each, or buy a 12-can case for $36.

Bassaganya-Riera said they took Pervida to the Fancy Food Show in New York City in June, and more than 500 people stopped by the booth. He said the drink was well received.

Other flavors - berry and ginger - are expected to hit the market in the fall.