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Biotivia's bio availability claims


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#1 indolering

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Posted 13 January 2008 - 05:08 PM


Is there ANY third party verification of Biotivia's claim's of enhanced bio availability? Has anyone on the board done any testing?

I have been digging through the forums for a concensus. Forgive me if I didn't find it, there is a LOT to slog through : )

Please, this is not a thread to discuss WHAT they did to their Resvertatrol OR for a flame fest for the vendors!

Thanks!
-Indolering

#2 Hedgehog

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Posted 13 January 2008 - 05:22 PM

Is there ANY third party verification of Biotivia's claim's of enhanced bio availability? Has anyone on the board done any testing?

I have been digging through the forums for a concensus. Forgive me if I didn't find it, there is a LOT to slog through : )

Please, this is not a thread to discuss WHAT they did to their Resvertatrol OR for a flame fest for the vendors!

Thanks!
-Indolering


Hi Indolering, I'm going to be testing it soon against pure resveratrol. Will be sample plasma concentrations. :)

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#3 niner

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Posted 14 January 2008 - 07:18 AM

Is there ANY third party verification of Biotivia's claim's of enhanced bio availability? Has anyone on the board done any testing?

I have been digging through the forums for a concensus. Forgive me if I didn't find it, there is a LOT to slog through : )

Please, this is not a thread to discuss WHAT they did to their Resvertatrol OR for a flame fest for the vendors!

Hi indolering. We can't really discuss WHAT they did because they've never said. They've also provided no evidence whatsoever that it works as of yet. I can't even tell which if any (or is it all?) of their products have "the treatment". So it is certainly a puzzlement. As for flames... They seem to be attracted to Biotivia as though it were some sort of stationary moth. If you like tortured metaphors, anyway. I await hedgehog's results, and can't emphasize enough what an enormous public service he's performing.

#4 maxwatt

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Posted 14 January 2008 - 12:32 PM

Is there ANY third party verification of Biotivia's claim's of enhanced bio availability? Has anyone on the board done any testing?

I have been digging through the forums for a concensus. Forgive me if I didn't find it, there is a LOT to slog through : )

Please, this is not a thread to discuss WHAT they did to their Resvertatrol OR for a flame fest for the vendors!

Hi indolering. We can't really discuss WHAT they did because they've never said. They've also provided no evidence whatsoever that it works as of yet. I can't even tell which if any (or is it all?) of their products have "the treatment". So it is certainly a puzzlement. As for flames... They seem to be attracted to Biotivia as though it were some sort of stationary moth. If you like tortured metaphors, anyway. I await hedgehog's results, and can't emphasize enough what an enormous public service he's performing.


Nor could I find a list of ingredients on the website; I'd have to buy a bottle to see the contents. By law they have to be on the label. Does anybody have a bottle and care to post the ingredients? We could make some guesses as to the efficacy of the mix,.

#5 drmz

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Posted 14 January 2008 - 12:51 PM

although this is from the longevinex website :

A false claim is made that quercetin, an ingredient in Longevinex, interferes with the bioavailablity of resveratrol. There is absolutely no evidence to substantiate this assertion, either by Biotivia or from scientific publications. Longevinex includes quercetin in its formula because it is a companion nutrient found in red wine and it has been shown in laboratory studies to enhance the bioavailability of resveratrol. Evidence for this is provided below.* Ask Biotivia if it can provide ANY independent scientific evidence that quercetin inhibits the biological action of resveratrol.


Ask Biotivia, what evidence can they provide, from an independent source, that their product exhibits superior absorption utilization or bioavailability?

Biotivia states, at its website that: “Today the company announced that it had succeeded in greatly improving absorption and utilization of resveratrol taken orally through application of a combination of proprietary techniques. Although the exact processes are trade secrets it is known that they involve altering the physical characteristics of the raw material prior to processing, use of advanced processing and purification technologies, and the complexing of the finished product with of a small amount of a natural organic adjutant which improves the bio availability of their Bioforte and Transmax products.”

In a press release (PRWeb) Biotivia claims: “This iwas (sp?) accomplished by complexing organic resveratrol with a natural patented adjutant (sp?) and utilizing a proprietary multi-stage processing system to enhance certain properties of the compound.” Biotivia claims this is a trade secret. Oddly, just one week prior to issuance of this press release, Biotivia claimed no one knew the definition of bioavailable.

Consumers are asked to take on faith that Biotivia’s claim of superior absorption and utilization are true.

Biotivia’s website keeps changing. As evidence of Biotivia’s claim of superior bioavailabity, Biotivia recently displayed a reprint of a scientific report, published in 1999, years prior to the introduction of Biotivia’s resveratrol product, regarding the measurement of resveratrol in humans. The report had nothing to do with a dietary supplement, let alone Biotivia’s product, and had nothing to do with bioavailability. This reprint has suddenly disappeared from their website and another unfounded claim made, that the technology to improve bioavailability of its resveratrol has been developed “within the last 18 months.” Ask Biotivia, if resveratrol products were produced which have superior bioavailability, based upon technology developed “within the last 18 months,” then how did Biotivia conduct tests to prove its claim of a 24-month shelf life?


Ask Biotivia for evidence they have conducted independent shelf-life studies to confirm their product meets label claim for dosage 2 years after date of manufacture. Biotivia claims its product is packed with nitrogen-gas, which is a method of preservation. But the point of nitrogen gas packaging is to prove that it ensures that trans resveratrol does not convert to cis resveratrol, or disappear altogether, over time. Biotivia also asserts it fills its capsules using Pfizer vege- caps, as if to confuse consumers their product is the same as the airtight Licaps capsules produced by Pfizer/Capsugel. The capsules Biotivia uses are not airtight and are not nitrogen filled. (For comparison, Longevinex has conducted independent laboratory tests to show its airtight capsules preserve trans resveratrol for a 2-year shelf life. www.prweb.com/releases/2006/03/prweb357068.htm )


In a contradictory manner, Biotivia claims that its Transmax resveratrol product is the “most efficacious natural trans resveratrol,” then infers other brands use synthetic resveratrol rather than natural, then claims Transmax is made from “more costly wild organic natural Polygonum cuspidatum” (Giant Knotweed), then claims “this is the identical compound used in the Dr. Sinclair study and others which have shown extraordinary and unique health effects.” However, the resveratrol used in the Sinclair study is synthetically produced by a company in India and could not be an “organic, natural, or identical” product to that of natural, organic resveratrol from Polygonum cuspidatum. Ask Biotivia, why do they say their resveratrol raw material is derived from a natural source and then claim it is the same as used in a widely publicized mouse study where synthetic resveratrol was employed?


Biotivia claims ConsumerLab concluded its product is the “highest potency of all resveratrol products, which it did not. There is no way to improve upon 100% of the labeled dosage. Biotivia, which claims it sells the highest-dose resveratrol products, conveniently substitutes “dosage” with the word “potency” to give the false impression its product is superior in some unusual way.

Ask Biotivia why they post, online, a press release issued by ConsumerLab, and altered the copy by adding (“The standout product was Transmax by Biotivia which contained 512mg of trans-resveratrol, 12mg more than the label stated, and came in at one of the lowest costs per 100mg.)” to make it appear ConsumerLab singled out their resveratrol products as the best. ConsumerLab has been notified of this alteration of their press release originally issued November 13, 2007.


Furthermore, Biotivia promotes use of supra-high dose (500-1500 mg per day) resveratrol, based solely upon a study in mice. Biotivia provides two supra-high dose resveratrol products, one that provides 250 mg and one 500 mg per pill. Ask Biotivia if they are aware of a recent study, published in journal Cancer Epidemiological Biomarkers Prevention, June 2007, where 40 healthy volunteers were given a single high-dose of resveratrol, ranging from 500 to 5000 milligrams of resveratrol, experienced 51 reversible side effects, 12 of these in the 500 mg group, 20 in the 1000 mg group. While there were no serious adverse reactions, side effects included abnormal blood tests, loose stool, panic attack, headache, flatulence, elevated blood sugar and foot infection.

For comparison, Longevinex provides 100 mg per capsule and asserts that supra-high dose resveratrol has never been employed in long-term human studies and may over-thin the blood or induce a copper deficiency (resveratrol is a copper chelator), and/or not be compatible with certain medications. Longevinex does not believe responsible companies should be offering supra-high dose resveratrol pills at this time. (For comparison, Longevinex® has been employed in a human study of healthy endurance athletes, without side effect – independent study by Appalachian State University. This study proves that Longevinex is orally bioavailable and effective in low dose. A press release describing the study is found here: www.prweb.com/releases/2007/11/prweb571938.htm )


Ask Biotivia if it can verify where its products are made? Biotivia initially claimed its products were made overseas (country of origin not identified on the product label), then for a brief time on their website claimed that their product was made in a Good Manufacturing Practices approved facility in the USA. The Biotivia Certificate of Analysis posted online emanates from Vienna, Austria.


Biotivia claims it has a pending patent on its product, but there is no evidence for this at online libraries of filed patents. Ask Biotivia if they can provide evidence they have filed for a patent, by provision of a docket number from the US Patent & Trademark Office.


Biotivia claims its product is produced in a “state of the art Good Manufacturing Practices” approved facility. Ask Biotivia to provide independent evidence that its products are produced in a GMP facility as certified by the National Sanitation Institute. Biotivia claims it makes its resveratrol products in an “oxygen free clean room.” No such thing exists. Clean room workers have to breathe air. (For comparison, Longevinex is produced at a GMP facility that is NSI certified for GMP. Refer to: www.nsf.org/business/dietary_supplements/index.asp?program=DietarySups ) A list of all dietary supplement manufacturers certified for GMP by NSF can be found here: www.nsf.org/Certified/GMP/Listings.asp


Biotivia claims its resveratrol products are being used in research studies at major international medical universities. Ask Biotivia if it can provide any evidence whatsoever for this claim.


Biotivia claims its resveratrol products “promote NAD and Sirt 1-4 longevity enzymes.” Ask Biotivia if it can provide independent evidence for same. (For comparison, Longevinex is the only company so far to have proven Sirtuin 1 gene activation by an independent laboratory- Biomol. www.longevinex.com/article.asp?story=Imitations )


Biotivia publishes, at its website, a Certificate of Analysis, conducted by its own affiliate in Vienna, Austria. Ask Biotivia if it can provide a Certificate of Analysis from an independent source. (For comparison, Longevinex only utilizes independent laboratories for product analysis.)


Ask Biotivia why it claims quercetin is a “cheaper additive,” when quercetin is a natural nutrient found in wine, is a very strong antioxidant, and has been shown in various published studies to work synergistically with resveratrol? See scientific references below.**


Ask Biotivia who Saurabh Shah is? Biotivia claims Shah is their chief research scientist, and that Shah and the company founder, James Betz, “have compiled a 167 page paper on current research on resveratrol's effects. The paper is available to qualified physicians and researchers upon request.” Why is this document being withheld from public view? It appears to be nothing more than a compilation of abstracts obtained by the online National Library of Medicine. There are no published research papers at the National Library of Medicine under the authorship of Saurabh Shah. According to Biotivia’s Certificate of Analysis, published online, Saurabh is the company’s quality control manager. www.biotivia.com/english/downloads/Transmax%20Batch%2015%20Aug%2007Q.pdf
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#6 Hedgehog

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Posted 14 January 2008 - 04:37 PM

Is there ANY third party verification of Biotivia's claim's of enhanced bio availability? Has anyone on the board done any testing?

I have been digging through the forums for a concensus. Forgive me if I didn't find it, there is a LOT to slog through : )

Please, this is not a thread to discuss WHAT they did to their Resvertatrol OR for a flame fest for the vendors!

Hi indolering. We can't really discuss WHAT they did because they've never said. They've also provided no evidence whatsoever that it works as of yet. I can't even tell which if any (or is it all?) of their products have "the treatment". So it is certainly a puzzlement. As for flames... They seem to be attracted to Biotivia as though it were some sort of stationary moth. If you like tortured metaphors, anyway. I await hedgehog's results, and can't emphasize enough what an enormous public service he's performing.


Nor could I find a list of ingredients on the website; I'd have to buy a bottle to see the contents. By law they have to be on the label. Does anybody have a bottle and care to post the ingredients? We could make some guesses as to the efficacy of the mix,.


I just got a bottle for testing purposes, I don't think it says anything. I will double check tonight. I opened one of the capsules up and it is a very dark yellow almost red looking. Very different compared to rev genetics. Based on my TASTE test (LOL), biotiva has a very chemical taste almost made me want spit it back out (its a 50-50 mix). Rev genetics is white and almost no taste.

Edited by hedgehog_info, 14 January 2008 - 04:48 PM.


#7 tintinet

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Posted 14 January 2008 - 09:44 PM

I've only received RevGenetics 99% purity capsules, so I don't know about their 50% extract, but I wouldn't ever expect a 50% extract to compare to a 99% extract. Very different substances, IME.

Is there ANY third party verification of Biotivia's claim's of enhanced bio availability? Has anyone on the board done any testing?

I have been digging through the forums for a concensus. Forgive me if I didn't find it, there is a LOT to slog through : )

Please, this is not a thread to discuss WHAT they did to their Resvertatrol OR for a flame fest for the vendors!

Hi indolering. We can't really discuss WHAT they did because they've never said. They've also provided no evidence whatsoever that it works as of yet. I can't even tell which if any (or is it all?) of their products have "the treatment". So it is certainly a puzzlement. As for flames... They seem to be attracted to Biotivia as though it were some sort of stationary moth. If you like tortured metaphors, anyway. I await hedgehog's results, and can't emphasize enough what an enormous public service he's performing.


Nor could I find a list of ingredients on the website; I'd have to buy a bottle to see the contents. By law they have to be on the label. Does anybody have a bottle and care to post the ingredients? We could make some guesses as to the efficacy of the mix,.


I just got a bottle for testing purposes, I don't think it says anything. I will double check tonight. I opened one of the capsules up and it is a very dark yellow almost red looking. Very different compared to rev genetics. Based on my TASTE test (LOL), biotiva has a very chemical taste almost made me want spit it back out (its a 50-50 mix). Rev genetics is white and almost no taste.



#8 zawy

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Posted 14 January 2008 - 09:49 PM

Who cares about bioavailability when greater than 75% is absorbed and converted to sulfates that get into cells better than RESV itself?

#9 Mind

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Posted 14 January 2008 - 09:56 PM

No flaming please....just a reminder. Seems like the type of thread that could get out of hand. This should be about how resv's bio-availability could be enhanced. If it is proprietary, we may never find out "the secret", although I suspect eventually end consumers will experiment and find out if the claim is true.

#10 docmaas

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Posted 14 January 2008 - 10:12 PM

Is there ANY third party verification of Biotivia's claim's of enhanced bio availability? Has anyone on the board done any testing?

I have been digging through the forums for a concensus. Forgive me if I didn't find it, there is a LOT to slog through : )

Please, this is not a thread to discuss WHAT they did to their Resvertatrol OR for a flame fest for the vendors!

Thanks!
-Indolering


I received my resv from biotivia over the weekend. I cut a capsule open of the transmax and found a very fine white powder, so fine that it literally smears almost like a cream on the blades of the scissors. I wrote to biotivia to ask the particle size and the reply was that it is a trade secret. I've not looked at anyone elses product but would be willing to exchange a capsule with others who have products similar to the transmax. The label states not less than 500 mg of the trans isomer per capsule and no additional contents other than natural ingredients occurring in the orignal plant.

If you want to trade a cap send me email at docmaasATyahooDOTcom and your address. I'll respond to the email with my address. I only want one cap of any type to look at.

Hedgehog (Is that reference to the animal or to the mushroom?) you must have the product labeled Biotivia Reservatrol which is 50% purity product rather than the Transmax which is a 98-99% purity product and is very white.

Does anyone have a way to measure the size?

BTW the capsule I cut was cut because it could be pulled apart. I don't know if that is normal or not. It is not soluable in oil but it dissolved pretty well in a tablespoon of yogurt.

Mike

#11 niner

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Posted 14 January 2008 - 10:23 PM

Who cares about bioavailability when greater than 75% is absorbed and converted to sulfates that get into cells better than RESV itself?

What is the evidence that the sulfate conjugates get into cells better than rsv itself? I haven't run across it in the literature. Generally speaking, decreasing the hydrophobicity of a molecule, such as via conjugation, makes it less likely to traverse the cell membrane. There may be active transport in some cases (glyco-conjugates?). Further, for resveratrol metabolites to be active, you have to either postulate that the conjugates bind and elicit the same response as resveratrol in a site that does not seem to be very accommodating from the structure activity relationships that I'm aware of, or else there need to be intracellular sulfatases in the tissues where you expect it to have an effect. I would love to learn that resveratrol metabolites were active, but what's the evidence?

#12 Hedgehog

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Posted 14 January 2008 - 10:25 PM

Is there ANY third party verification of Biotivia's claim's of enhanced bio availability? Has anyone on the board done any testing?

I have been digging through the forums for a concensus. Forgive me if I didn't find it, there is a LOT to slog through : )

Please, this is not a thread to discuss WHAT they did to their Resvertatrol OR for a flame fest for the vendors!

Thanks!
-Indolering


I received my resv from biotivia over the weekend. I cut a capsule open of the transmax and found a very fine white powder, so fine that it literally smears almost like a cream on the blades of the scissors. I wrote to biotivia to ask the particle size and the reply was that it is a trade secret. I've not looked at anyone elses product but would be willing to exchange a capsule with others who have products similar to the transmax. The label states not less than 500 mg of the trans isomer per capsule and no additional contents other than natural ingredients occurring in the orignal plant.

If you want to trade a cap send me email at docmaasATyahooDOTcom and your address. I'll respond to the email with my address. I only want one cap of any type to look at.

Hedgehog (Is that reference to the animal or to the mushroom?) you must have the product labeled Biotivia Reservatrol which is 50% purity product rather than the Transmax which is a 98-99% purity product and is very white.

Does anyone have a way to measure the size?

BTW the capsule I cut was cut because it could be pulled apart. I don't know if that is normal or not. It is not soluable in oil but it dissolved pretty well in a tablespoon of yogurt.

Mike


No it is hedgehog pathway as in sonic hedgehog pathway (key embryonic and adult stem cell regulator). See my website www.pathway2curis.com or wikipedia which I have worked on. All send you a PM for testing...

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#13 Hedgehog

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Posted 15 January 2008 - 02:51 AM

Who cares about bioavailability when greater than 75% is absorbed and converted to sulfates that get into cells better than RESV itself?

What is the evidence that the sulfate conjugates get into cells better than rsv itself? I haven't run across it in the literature. Generally speaking, decreasing the hydrophobicity of a molecule, such as via conjugation, makes it less likely to traverse the cell membrane. There may be active transport in some cases (glyco-conjugates?). Further, for resveratrol metabolites to be active, you have to either postulate that the conjugates bind and elicit the same response as resveratrol in a site that does not seem to be very accommodating from the structure activity relationships that I'm aware of, or else there need to be intracellular sulfatases in the tissues where you expect it to have an effect. I would love to learn that resveratrol metabolites were active, but what's the evidence?


ACT: Resveratrol is a natural product with diverse biological activities. We have
previously reported that resveratrol possesses potent synergistic inhibitory activity
against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection in combination with nucleoside
analogs (Heredia et al. 2000. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 25:246–255). As a part of
our program in developing resveratrol as a component for anti-HIV chemotherapy,
we describe in this article the characterization, chemical synthesis, and biological effects
of the human metabolites of resveratrol. We found that resveratrol was metabolized in
humans into two metabolites, which were characterized as resveratrol-3-O- and 40-Oglucuronides.
For further biological studies, we reported two simple, alternative methods
for the synthesis of the metabolites. The cytotoxic and antiviral activities of resveratrol
and its metabolites were compared in cell culture experiments using human peripheral
blood mononuclear cells. Whereas resveratrol was cytotoxic at 30 mM, no cytotoxicity
was observed for the metabolites at concentrations as high as 300 mM. However,
resveratrol showed strong synergistic anti-HIV activity with didanosine at 10 mM, but
no synergistic effects were observed for either of the metabolites at up to 300 mM.
Nevertheless, the in vitro activity of the metabolites (resveratrol glucuronides) may not
necessarily reflect their in vivo function, given the fact that the ubiquitously existing
human b-glucuronidase could convert the metabolites back to resveratrol locally or
systematically in vivo. The present studies have implications for future development of
resveratrol and/or its derivatives as a chemotherapeutic agent. 2004

We further demonstrated that, in contrast to resveratrol, the
metabolites are neither active against HIV-1
infection nor cytotoxic at up to 300 mM in cell
culture experiments, but the in vitro behavior of
the metabolites may not necessarily reflect their
in vivo function, given the fact that the ubiquitously
existing human b-glucuronidase could convert
the metabolites back to resveratrol either
locally or systematically in vivo.




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