Nutra Pharma Corp (NPHC)

[Degreed]

This is such a crock of bull it's OTC non FDA tested, no double trial done by a 3rd party, it's a crock, where are the efficacy results placing against other pain killers?

I'll say this again THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT WON'T SELL. AMERICANS SPEND OVE 5 BILLION ON OTC CRAP THAT DOESN'T WORK FROM BODYBUILDING SUPPLEMENTS, WEIGHT LOSS, SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION, YOU NAME IT.

Cobroxin does not work better than Tylenol or whiskey let alone freaking Morphine, Lortab, Vicodan, and it relieves Migraines? Give me a break how would a pain reliever help a receptor issue like a Migraine sufferer has? Go tell a Neurologist that and get laughed at.

I'm done you guys are so biased it's unreal.

Thursday, October 22, 2009
Bullsh*t of the Day: Cobroxin Again
In my blog yesterday, I wrote about how Cobroxin is a homeopathic medicine. Most homeopathic medicines have been diluted to the point where there practically is no active ingredient in the product. I assumed this was true regarding Cobroxin.

However, I was wrong. According to the manufacturer, Cobroxin has a 5X dilution according to Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States. This means that there is detectable cobra venom (or venom components) in the product. The product has been diluted 1:100,000.

Cobra venom, at a 1:100,000 dilution, does have biological effects. For example, this dilution has been shown to cause hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells) in dog blood. However, these biological effects happen when the venom is injected, or tested in vitro. This is radically different from applying something topically or orally.

There is evidence that cobra venom has components that may have analgesic effects when injected. Cobroxin's manufacturer provides a list of studies that supposedly showed cobra venom or its components to have pain-relieving effects. However, the majority of the studies they list involved injection of cobra venom or its components. Only 7 out of the listed studies used oral delivery, and only 1 used topical delivery. Of the 7 that used oral delivery, 6 of them did not report the dose used. 1 of them was only presented as an abstract at a conference and was never published in full form in a peer-reviewed journal. There is no reference for another one (Xu et al, 2001). 2 more of them were presented in a Chinese journal (Journal of Snake), and there is no mention of placebo controls or blinding. 3 of these didn't even look at pain.


The fact is, the research presented that supposedly supports the use of Cobroxin is of extremely low quality (even the injection studies). Many of the studies listed don't involve blinding, placebo controls, randomization, or any of the other things that are necessary for an adequate study. Many of the studies presented are of so low quality, they would never be accepted in today's peer-reviewed journals (particularly in American or European journals, which are more stringent than Chinese journals). Also, none of these studies involved Cobroxin itself; they are just studies on cobra venom and its components.


When it comes to pain relief, unblinded studies and studies that lack a placebo control are worthless. It is well established that there is a significant placebo effect in analgesia studies. Just the mere suggestion that a substance might relieve your pain will often actually reduce your pain, even if the substance has absolutely no biological effect. There is evidence that the expectation of pain relief causes the release of dopamine and opioids, which, in turn, have an analgesic effect.


Another reason to be skeptical of Cobroxin is the long list of ailments that cobra venom or its components supposedly treat. In this document, the manufacturer lists the treatment of everything from pain to diabetes to cancer to addiction. Any time an ingredient is presented as a near "cure-all", it should be viewed with skepticism.

The fact is, there are no double-blind, placebo-controlled trials on Cobroxin published in peer-reviewed journals. Until this happens, any claims regarding Cobroxin should be taken with a grain of salt, and Cobroxin remains on the B.S. list.