Group items tagged

A popular vitamin supplement is being advertised with claims that are demonstrably untrue, as revealed by research published in the open access journal BMC Pharmacology. Benfotiamine is a synthetic derivative of thiamine (vitamin B1). It is marketed heavily as a dietary supplement using a selection of unsubstantiated, 'not-quite-medical' claims that tend to characterize this field. A large part of this campaign has been built around the belief that benfotiamine is lipid-soluble and, therefore, more physiologically active. Scientific research led by Dr Lucien Bettendorff of the Center for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology at the University of Liège, Belgium, has entirely disproved these claims.

Sulbutiamine (brand name: Arcalion) is a precursor to thiamine (i.e., vitamin B1). As a dimer of two structurally modified thiamine residues, sulbutiamine retains many of the features of thiamine. However, the thiazole rings are open, the alcohol groups are esterified, and a disulfide bridge connects the two thiamine analogues. Sulbutiamine is indicated for the treatment of asthenia.[1] Its ability to reduce fatigue is also considered desirable by athletes, and it is available for over-the-counter sale as a nutritional supplement. In one study of chronic fatigue patients, sulbutiamine did not demonstrate sustained benefits over the placebo, which raises doubts about its clinical efficacy.[2] However, the authors of that study suggest that additional research is needed to evalulate the potential usefulness of sulbutiamine in the treatment of chronic fatigue. Sulbutiamine may be beneficial for cognition. Indeed, the demonstrated ability of sulbutiamine to improve memory in rats[3] and patients of schizophrenia[3] suggests that it is a nootropic. Recent research also shows support for the use of sulbutiamine in the treatment of erectile dysfunction

Sulbutiamine is a centrally acting cholinergic vitamin B analogue. One study shows sulbutiamine improve memory in rats. At this time I prefer using a combination of several B vitamins rather than relying on one vitamin B analogue. For more information on B vitamins or to purchase Vitamin B Coenzyme. Even better is to take a multivitamin that has a combination of the B vitamins along with a couple of dozen vitamins and nutrients. In most cases I think it is better to take a small amount of a number of different nutrients as opposed to a large amount of just one. Consider a very popular product that I have formulated called MultiVit-Rx.