Lifeline Therapeutics (fka LFLT)

[Steeley]

Protandim components

milk thistle (silybum marianum) seed

Neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects of milk thistle (Silybum marianum) on neurons in culture.

Kittur S, Wilasrusmee S, Pedersen WA, Mattson MP, Straube-West K, Wilasrusmee C, Lubelt B, Kittur DS.

Department of Neurology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA. [e-mail]

Herbal products are being increasingly used as dietary supplements and therapeutic agents. However, much more research must be performed in order to determine the biological basis for their putative clinical effects. We tested the effects of milk thistle (Silybum marianum) extract on the differentiation and survival of cultured neural cells. Milk thistle enhanced nerve growth factor (NGF)-induced neurite outgrowth in PC-12 neural cells and prolonged their survival in culture. Milk thistle extract also protected cultured rat hippocampal neurons against oxidative stress-induced cell death. Our data demonstrate that milk thistle extract can promote neuronal differentiation and survival, suggesting potential benefits of chemicals in this plant on the nervous system.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_....

ashwagandha (withania somnifera) root

Phase I clinical trial of curcumin, a chemopreventive agent, in patients with high-risk or pre-malignant lesions.

Cheng AL, Hsu CH, Lin JK, Hsu MM, Ho YF, Shen TS, Ko JY, Lin JT, Lin BR, Ming-Shiang W, Yu HS, Jee SH, Chen GS, Chen TM, Chen CA, Lai MK, Pu YS, Pan MH, Wang YJ, Tsai CC, Hsieh CY.

Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei. [e-mail]

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane), a yellow substance from the root of the plant Curcuma longa Linn., has been demonstrated to inhibit carcinogenesis of murine skin, stomach, intestine and liver. However, the toxicology, pharmacokinetics and biologically effective dose of curcumin in humans have not been reported. This prospective phase-I study evaluated these issues of curcumin in patients with one of the following five high-risk conditions: 1) recently resected urinary bladder cancer; 2) arsenic Bowen's disease of the skin; 3) uterine cervical intraepithelial neoplasm (CIN); 4) oral leucoplakia; and 5) intestinal metaplasia of the stomach. Curcumin was taken orally for 3 months. Biopsy of the lesion sites was done immediately before and 3 months after starting curcumin treament. The starting dose was 500 mg/day. If no toxicity > or = grade II was noted in at least 3 successive patients, the dose was then escalated to another level in the order of 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, 8,000, and 12,000 mg/day. The concentration of curcumin in serum and urine was determined by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). A total of 25 patients were enrolled in this study. There was no treatment-related toxicity up to 8,000 mg/day. Beyond 8,000 mg/day, the bulky volume of the drug was unacceptable to the patients. The serum concentration of curcumin usually peaked at 1 to 2 hours after oral intake of crucumin and gradually declined within 12 hours. The average peak serum concentrations after taking 4,000 mg, 6,000 mg and 8,000 mg of curcumin were 0.51 +/- 0.11 microM, 0.63 +/- 0.06 microM and 1.77 +/- 1.87 microM, respectively. Urinary excretion of curcumin was undetectable. One of 4 patients with CIN and 1 of 7 patients with oral leucoplakia proceeded to develop frank malignancies in spite of curcumin treatment. In contrast, histologic improvement of precancerous lesions was seen in 1 out of 2 patients with recently resected bladder cancer, 2 out of 7 patients of oral leucoplakia, 1 out of 6 patients of intestinal metaplasia of the stomach, I out of 4 patients with CIN and 2 out of 6 patients with Bowen's disease. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that curcumin is not toxic to humans up to 8,000 mg/day when taken by mouth for 3 months. Our results also suggest a biologic effect of curcumin in the chemoprevention of cancer.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_....

bacopa monnieri aerial part

Chronic effects of Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri) on human memory.

Roodenrys S, Booth D, Bulzomi S, Phipps A, Micallef C, Smoker J.

Department of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Woolongong, Australia. [e-mail]

A study is reported on the effects of Brahmi (Bacopa monniera) on human memory. Seventy-six adults aged between 40 and 65 years took part in a double-blind randomized, placebo control study in which various memory functions were tested and levels of anxiety measured. There were three testing sessions: one prior to the trial, one after three months on the trial, and one six weeks after the completion of the trial. The results show a significant effect of the Brahmi on a test for the retention of new information. Follow-up tests showed that the rate of learning was unaffected, suggesting that Brahmi decreases the rate of forgetting of newly acquired information. Tasks assessing attention, verbal and visual short-term memory and the retrieval of pre-experimental knowledge were unaffected. Questionnaire measures of everyday memory function and anxiety levels were also unaffected.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_....

turmeric (curcuma longa) rhizome

Phase I clinical trial of curcumin, a chemopreventive agent, in patients with high-risk or pre-malignant lesions.

Cheng AL, Hsu CH, Lin JK, Hsu MM, Ho YF, Shen TS, Ko JY, Lin JT, Lin BR, Ming-Shiang W, Yu HS, Jee SH, Chen GS, Chen TM, Chen CA, Lai MK, Pu YS, Pan MH, Wang YJ, Tsai CC, Hsieh CY.

Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei. [e-mail]

Curcumin (diferuloylmethane), a yellow substance from the root of the plant Curcuma longa Linn., has been demonstrated to inhibit carcinogenesis of murine skin, stomach, intestine and liver. However, the toxicology, pharmacokinetics and biologically effective dose of curcumin in humans have not been reported. This prospective phase-I study evaluated these issues of curcumin in patients with one of the following five high-risk conditions: 1) recently resected urinary bladder cancer; 2) arsenic Bowen's disease of the skin; 3) uterine cervical intraepithelial neoplasm (CIN); 4) oral leucoplakia; and 5) intestinal metaplasia of the stomach. Curcumin was taken orally for 3 months. Biopsy of the lesion sites was done immediately before and 3 months after starting curcumin treament. The starting dose was 500 mg/day. If no toxicity > or = grade II was noted in at least 3 successive patients, the dose was then escalated to another level in the order of 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, 8,000, and 12,000 mg/day. The concentration of curcumin in serum and urine was determined by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). A total of 25 patients were enrolled in this study. There was no treatment-related toxicity up to 8,000 mg/day. Beyond 8,000 mg/day, the bulky volume of the drug was unacceptable to the patients. The serum concentration of curcumin usually peaked at 1 to 2 hours after oral intake of crucumin and gradually declined within 12 hours. The average peak serum concentrations after taking 4,000 mg, 6,000 mg and 8,000 mg of curcumin were 0.51 +/- 0.11 microM, 0.63 +/- 0.06 microM and 1.77 +/- 1.87 microM, respectively. Urinary excretion of curcumin was undetectable. One of 4 patients with CIN and 1 of 7 patients with oral leucoplakia proceeded to develop frank malignancies in spite of curcumin treatment. In contrast, histologic improvement of precancerous lesions was seen in 1 out of 2 patients with recently resected bladder cancer, 2 out of 7 patients of oral leucoplakia, 1 out of 6 patients of intestinal metaplasia of the stomach, I out of 4 patients with CIN and 2 out of 6 patients with Bowen's disease. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that curcumin is not toxic to humans up to 8,000 mg/day when taken by mouth for 3 months. Our results also suggest a biologic effect of curcumin in the chemoprevention of cancer.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_....