Advanced antioxidant formula from Grape Seed and Japanese Green Tea extracts

Grape Seed and Green Tea extracts have gained prominence in the antioxidant supplement market for their powerful procyanidolic constituents. These compounds are typically diphenols (they have two hydroxyl groups per benzene ring), grouped together in clusters of two or more structural units called dimers, trimers, or polymers. They have stronger antioxidant activity than tocopherols, which have only one hydroxyl group.

VITAVIN is a new, more potent form of grape seed antioxidant, having a significant proportion of triphenols (three hydroxyl groups per benzene ring). This additional hydroxyl group may explain the significant increase in antioxidant protection in lipids shown in the initial experiments with this material.

The effects of previous manufacturing processes

VITAVIN is closer to grape compounds in their natural state, as well as being more powerful. The methods of extraction in use by most manufacturers of grape seed extracts involve heating to high temperatures and the use of potentially toxic solvents. These processes appear to reduce efficacy in three important ways:

About a third of the polyphenols occurring naturally are triphenols. Heating causes polymerization and cross-linkages in these delicate molecules, deactivating the third hydroxyl group and reducing antioxidant activity.

Dimers and trimers (two or three identical structural units per molecule) are merged together into polymers, which also have lower antioxidant activity.

Traces of the solvents used for extraction remain in the final products, reducing their antioxidant benefits, and potentially disrupting several metabolic systems of the human body.

Natural extraction methods used for VITAVIN

VITAVIN is extracted with a natural, cold temperature method using no toxic solvents, so it is both more biologically active, and totally free of potentially harmful solvent residues. This method starts with a new extraction technology that actually increases antioxidant activity by enzymatically cleaving polymers, thereby increasing the percentage of more active polyphenol monomers and dimers. The extraction process is tailored to the unique chemistry of the carefully selected subspecies of grape being used, optimising enzymatic enhancement. The final extraction is done with a proprietary cryogenic, avoiding both the breakdown of triphenols and the fusion of polymers caused by high heat processes. VITAVINhas shown a significant increase in antioxidant activity compared to competing products in lipid peroxidation studies. Since no toxic solvents are used in the extraction of VITAVIN, no residuals are left; the same is not always true for other products.

Physiology - Grape Seed

Proanthocyanidins and catechins extracted from grape seeds have been shown in numerous studies to have beneficial effects, including: inhibition of enzymes that can damage the integrity and elasticity of capillaries, skin and other tissues. In inhibiting the harmful enzymes, the active ingredients in grapeseed extract can help to keep the important collagen and elastin in various tissues from degrading. In particular, the capillaries are allowed to retain their flexibility (to let red blood cells through tight places) and integrity (so that blood does not inappropriately leak through the capillary wall).

Grapeseed extract has been used for: poor distribution of microcirculatory blood flow in the brain and heart, poor capillary elasticity and integrity and excessive platelet aggregation. It is also an effective cardiovascular protector and a formidable collagen cross linking regulator because of its unique affinity with both elastin and collagen proteins.

Green tea is the natural dried leaf of the tea plant. Black tea is oxidized green tea. Both have been used for thousands of years in Asia, as beverage and medicine. Green Tea Extract with its high content of polyphenols, a class of bioflavonoids, makes it one of the most powerful natural antioxidants known.

Physiology - Green Tea

The polyphenols in green tea are catechins, with multiple ring-like structures. Polyphenols are a form of bioflavonoids with several phenol groups. They control both taste and biological action. The dominant and most important catechin in green tea is (-) Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG), a potent antioxidant. The phenol groups capture pro-oxidants and free radicals. EGCG is over 200 times more powerful than Vitamin E in neutralizing the pro-oxidants and free radicals that attack lipids in the brain, in vivo. It is 20 times more potent than Vitamin E in reducing formation of peroxides in lard by the Active Oxygen Method, in vitro.

Green tea Extract is used primarily for its free radical fighting capabilities. Its key ingredient, EGCG protects against digestive and respiratory infections. It helps block the cancer-promoting actions of carcinogens, ultraviolet light, and metastasis from an original sight in the skin, stomach, small intestine, liver or lung. EGCG suppressed angiotensin 1 converting enzyme, which causes essential hypertension. EGCG also reduces platelet aggregation about as much as aspirin or Ginkgo Biloba extract. Green tea is very effective in inhibiting pathogenic bacteria that causes food poisoning, but increases levels of acidophilus (friendly bacteria). Green tea also blocks the attachment of the bacteria associated with dental caries to the teeth.

GRAPE SEED GREEN TEA Proanthocyanidins and Catechins work in the following ways:

They help to neutralize dietary carcinogens such as nitrosamine and aflatoxin.
They interfere with the binding of cancer-causing agents to cellular DNA, thereby protecting cells against mutations that can eventually cause cancer.
They protect against free-radical DNA damage that causes some cancers.
They inhibit bacterial-induced DNA mutations that can also lead to certain cancers.
They work with enzymes and other antioxidants in the intestine, liver and lungs to prevent the activation of certain carcinogens before they damage DNA.
They protect against the effects of ionizing radiation and ultraviolet radiation.
They counteract the initiation and promotion of carcinogenesis.

Enerex's GRAPE SEED GREEN TEA extract combination is one of the most potent anti-oxidant formulas available. This combination provides a potent anti-oxidant defence against the cellular damaging effects of free radicals, which can lead to cancer, heart disease, arthritis and premature ageing.