A) Chromium picolinate has been accused of causing certain damages to DNA; this has been discussed here before. I'm not sure if a conclusion was reached, but I'll keep looking and update this thread accordingly. In certain discussions on various forums, including this one, picolinic acid (picolinate) is pointed out as the culprit and the cause of this damage. Are all picolinate supplements unsafe?
B) Has zinc picolinate ever been attributed with the same dangers as chromium picolinate? If picolinic acid is the culprit, then zinc picolinate would have the same inherent dangers as chromium picolinate, right? Unless this whole thing has been debunked and I missed it.
As for the alternatives, is zinc citrate just as effective for anxiety and depression? Are there any other options? How should I get mah zinks?
C) Now, on to some STUDIESZ.
Here's evidence and stuff to support the safety of chromium picolinate:
Toxicol In Vitro. 2007 Dec 25 [Epub ahead of print]
Chromium picolinate does not produce chromosome damage.
Komorowski JR, Greenberg D, Juturu V.
Research and Development, Nutrition 21 Inc, 4 Manhattanville Road,
Purchase, NY 10577, United States.
Chromium picolinate (CrPic) is used as a dietary supplement and has
beneficial effects in reducing diabetes risk factors. The present
study evaluated the cytogenetic effects of CrPic in bone marrow cells
of Sprague-Dawley rats (5 animals/sex/group). Test animals were dosed
orally with 33, 250 or 2000mg/kg of CrPic, which corresponded to doses
of 4.1, 30.8 and 246mg/kg of chromium. The lowest dose of CrPic, 33mg/
kg is estimated to be the human equivalent for a 50kg person (200mcg
Cr). The animals were dosed once, and sacrificed either 18 or 42hours
(h) later. The mitotic index was determined for each rat. Metaphase
cells (50 or 100/rats) were examined for interstitial deletions,
chromatid and chromosome gap, breaks or other anomalies. The average
percentage of damaged cells at 18h in vehicle treated males and
females were 1.2% and 0.6%, respectively. The mean values at 18h for
doses of 33, 250 and 2000mg/kg, were 0.4%, 0.8%, 0.4% for males and
0.6%, 0.2% and 0.6% for females, respectively. At 42h, the mean values
for vehicle treated males and females were 0.4% and 0.2%,
respectively. For doses of 33, 250 and 2000mg/kg at 42h the average
percent damage was 14%, 0.8% and 0.4% for males and 0.2%, 0.2% and
0.0% for females, respectively. None of these values were
statistically increased compared to the vehicle controls. The positive
control Cyclophosphamide (CPM) induced a significant increase in
chromosomal damage at 18h averaging 30% in males and 37% in females,
respectively (p<0.001). In the current study CrPic did not induce
chromosomal damage in bone marrow cells at single doses of 33, 250 and
2000mg/kg of body weight and thus there was no indication of any
toxicity of CrPic.
PMID: 18261879 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
It should be enough, but I don't like to go on just one study. A conflicting report could be written in a few years. There is more research to do.
And here's some info about picolinic acid being crap:
The effect of supplementing a protein deficient diet with picolinic acid on parotid salivary proteins was examined. Female rats were fed one of three synthetic diets containing 18% protein, 8% protein, or 8% protein plus 0.03% picolinic acid. After 38 days, although food intake did not differ, the body weights of rats consuming 18% protein were significantly greater than those maintained on the 8% protein diets with or without picolinic acid. Zinc content of serum and liver was significantly lower in the low protein groups and these values were unaffected by the addition of picolinic acid. Although zinc concentration and salivary flow rate did not differ, total protein concentration as determined by the Lowry and by absorption at 215 nm was highest in the group receiving diets of 8% protein supplemented with picolinic acid. Furthermore, the bands corresponding to basic proline-rich proteins were consistently increased in the rats maintained on the low protein diet supplemented with picolinic acid compared to rats fed the 18% protein diet. These results demonstrate that dietary picolinic acid supplementation alters parotid gland function in a manner which appears to be independent of its proposed effect on dietary zinc absorption. These data suggest that the effect of picolinic acid supplementation is not confined to zinc metabolism and therefore caution is advised in interpretation of dietary studies utilizing this zinc binding ligand.
FROM: http://www.sciencedi...90c2bd29c25187c
