ChromaDex, ExcelVite, Kyowa Hakko and AstaReal uncovered the latest studies on hot ingredients, such as tocotrienols, citicoline and astaxanthin.

ChromaDex Corp. announced results of the first controlled human clinical study on the use of the Company's NIAGEN nicotinamide riboside, which were presented at the 4th Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Science Research Conference on NAD+ Metabolism and Signaling, currently being held in Germany. An oral presentation and poster-presented data indicated that single doses of NIAGEN NR can elevate the co-enzyme NAD+ in the blood by as much as 2.7-fold. In the first-in-humans clinical trial, which involved dosing twelve healthy adult subjects, the group showed that blood cell NAD+ increased with single 100-mg, 300-mg and 1-gram doses of NIAGEN NR. Average maximal increases in blood NAD+ were approximately 30 percent at the 100-mg dose and approximately 50 percent at the higher doses. Increases in blood NAD+ tended to be sustained for longer times at higher doses. These observations validate NIAGEN as an effective agent at elevating blood cell NAD+ metabolism in healthy human beings.

In other research news, single, pure tocotrienol isoforms were found to be less effective than the natural full-spectrum palm tocotrienol/tocopherol complex, EVNol™ (previously known as Tocomin®) in reducing oxidative stress and restoring endothelium-dependent relaxation, according to a new study. The study set out to compare antioxidant activity of individual tocotrienol isoforms (alpha, gamma, and delta), alpha-tocopherol, and Tocomin (now EVNol, manufactured by ExcelVite Inc.). Researchers found that all individual tocotrienol forms (alpha, gamma, delta) effectively scavenged superoxide, but did not improve endothelial function unless alpha-tocopherol was present. EVNol proved to be more potent than alpha-tocopherol at restoring endothelial function because its effectiveness began at a 100-times lower concentration than that of alpha-tocopherol. 

ExcelVite also recently shared a Wall Street Journal article on the health benefits and clinical studies of Malaysian’s palm products , particularly the red palm oil and EVNol. The article stated: “According to a 2010 review published in the Journal of American College of Nutrition, scientists in developing countries have found red palm oils to be an effective method of treating vitamin A deficiency, which can lead to blindness." In addition, the article pointed out the importance of red palm tocotrienols for the cardiovascular system, referencing a two-year, 121-subject human study that reported oral supplementation of red palm tocotrienols (EVNol SupraBio™) helped in attenuating brain white matter lesion progression or small areas of damage/ lesion to the brain that lead to cognitive impairment.  

Results of another double-blind, placebo-controlled, human clinical trial showed nearly one month of oral supplementation with Cognizin^® citicoline (supplied by Kyowa Hakko) resulted in improved attention and motor function in healthy adolescent males. The study followed 75 healthy male adolescents who received either a placebo, 250 mg of Cognizin citicoline supplement or 500 mg of Cognizin citicoline supplement for 28 days. After the 28-day study period, participants who received Cognizin citicoline showed statistically significant increased motor speed, improved attention and decreased impulsivity compared to the placebo group. The authors noted the results of this study support previous research that has demonstrated citicoline’s positive impact on the brain’s frontal lobe, which is still maturing during adolescence. Further, enhanced motor speed, visual selective attention and reduced impulsivity could prove to be useful in an adolescent population experiencing neural development and increased risk-taking behavior.

In addition, AstaReal, a company of Fuji Chemical group, announced its AstaReal® astaxanthin significantly improved NAFLD in patients with Werner syndrome, known as adult progeria, in a clinical study conducted by the Department of Clinical Cell Biology and Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University. A Werner syndrome patient who visited the Chiba University Hospital was suffering from diabetes mellitus. Liver computed tomography (CT) revealed many lipid droplets in liver cells, indicating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with serious hepatic steatosis. The patient was given two capsules of AstaReal (containing 6 mg natural astaxanthin extract per capsule) every day. After three months of treatment, a CT scan showed a significant decrease of lipid droplets in the liver. The treatment of 12 mg/d astaxanthin was continued upon patient request for another three months, resulting in additional decrease of lipid droplets noted by liver CT. Blood test confirmed that the patients’ liver function returned to normal, with improvement in hepatitis markers including aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT).