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Health News Archive 174 - Oxidative Stress
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Anti-Oxidant Mix Provides a New Approach to Antioxidant Therapy

Data from a human study just published in the scientific journal, Free Radical Biology & Medicine (Jan. 15, 2006), demonstrated that an anti-oxidant mix was able to reduce oxidative stress in men and women. Oxidative stress results when the balance between oxidants and antioxidant enzymes is upset. Oxidative stress, which many authorities believe is central to the cellular aging process, increases as we age. Furthermore, there are over a thousand scientific research studies indicating that high oxidative stress is associated with various diseases.

The patent-pending dietary supplement, called Protandim consists of five naturally occurring plant ingredients - Milk Thistle Extract, Ashwagandha, Green Tea Extract, Turmeric Extract, and Bacopa plus SOD. It significantly reduced harmful oxidants by inducing the body to produce more of its own antioxidant enzymes. The study measured the levels of TBARS (thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances), harmful substances created when cells are damaged by oxidation, in 29 subjects. People taking Protandim(R) experienced reduced oxidative stress, as demonstrated by reducing the amount of TBARS circulating in the blood by an average of 40 percent. This reduced oxidative stress occurred as a result of significantly increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes that naturally help regulate healthy oxidative balance.

"These results represent a whole new approach to antioxidant therapy," said senior study author Joe M. McCord, Ph.D., professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center. "Our review of the literature has found that studies with traditional antioxidant compounds have failed to eliminate the age-related increase in oxidative stress that we have seen in this study, suggesting that this mix may offer a much more efficient way to reduce oxidative stress."

Oxidative stress and its effects in the body

Oxidants, which include free radicals, are toxic by-products of human cells as they produce energy to perform their specific metabolic functions. Oxidants are neutralized or detoxified by naturally occurring antioxidant enzymes within cells, including superoxide dismutase and catalase (SOD and CAT). Oxidative stress results when there is a disruption in the balance between oxidants and antioxidant enzymes.

One specific measure of oxidative stress is TBARS, harmful products of lipid (fat) oxidation found in the blood. Lower levels of TBARS are seen in healthy and younger individuals. As people age, and in certain diseases, the amount of TBARS circulating in the blood increases, indicating elevated oxidative stress levels.

Protandim(R) study results

In this study, before starting Protandim(R), study participants, who ranged in age from 20 to 78, showed a strong age-related increase in TBARS. After 30 days of taking Protandim(R), a 40 percent average decrease in TBARS was seen, and the age-related increase was eliminated. By 120 days of supplementation, Protandim(R) also significantly increased activity of SOD and CAT antioxidant enzymes by 30 percent and 54 percent, respectively.

"These results show not only that specific harmful substances can be decreased by Protandim(R), but that oxidative stress can be reduced by a natural process, increasing the body's ability to get rid of the harmful substances by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes," said Dr. McCord.

Much more is being learned about the relationship of oxidative stress with the cellular aging process and with certain diseases. A recent review of multiple studies concluded oxidative stress is strongly associated with the cellular aging process.(1) Furthermore, a recent study concluded that TBARS may be a predictor of cardiovascular events in patients with stable coronary artery disease.(2) "As we learn more about the effects of oxidative stress on cellular aging and certain diseases, we can begin to think about new approaches to maintaining low levels of oxidative stress for long-term health," said Rajindar Sohal, Ph.D., professor of molecular pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Southern California, and a researcher in oxidative stress.

References

(1) Junqueira, V. B.; Barros, S. B.; Chan, S. S.; Rodrigues, L.; Giavarotti, L.; Abud, R. L.; Deucher, G. P. Aging and oxidative stress. Mol. Aspects Med. 25:5-16; 2004.

(2) Walter, M. F.; Jacob, R. F.; Jeffers, B.; Ghadanfar, M. M.; Preston, G. M.; Buch, J.; Mason, R. P. Serum levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances predict cardiovascular events in patients with stable coronary artery disease: a longitudinal analysis of the PREVENT study. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 44:1996-2002; 2004.