Quicksilver Scientific has up now concentrated on detoxification products. In particular, the formulations of founder Christopher Shade, PhD focused on mercury detoxification, hence the company’s name.
Detoxification pathway led to delivery mode innovation
Shade said the mercury detoxification protocol he came up with relies on the body’s glutathione pathway. This hard-to-deliver cellular antioxidant led him to consider advanced delivery modes, including liposomes. These tiny vesicles, which are formed from phospholipids and mimic the structure of cell membranes, have been shown to boost the absorption of a wide variety of compounds, including many drugs. But Shade said his investigation of the liposomes available on the market form contract formulators led him to conclude that if he wanted it done right, he’d have to do it himself.
“I first worked with other companies that were making liposomes and I found that they were not living up to their claims. I dove into that and developed my own methods, and now we use pharmaceutical-type processes at our plant in Lafayette,” he said.
The development of that delivery system has been so successful that the company now markets a wide variety of supplements along with the main glutathione detoxification lines. Other ingredients include B vitamins, Vitamin C and CoQ10.
Now Shade has turned his attention to boosting the bioavailability of CBD with a line of three new products. The products are based on what the company calls a ‘full spectrum hemp extract,’ which it says delivers a “combination of CBD and a Farm Bill-compliant level of THC, regulates signaling pathways throughout the body to ease discomfort from head to toe. Its soothing effects are bolstered by β-caryophyllene, a unique hemp-based terpene.”
New line touts ‘synergies’
The three new products in the ‘CBD Synergies’ line include a ‘relief formula’ that includes Sabinsa’s branded Curcumin C3 Complex and BioPerine black petter extract as well as a Boswellia serrata extract. There are sleep support and calming formulas, too, both of which also feature branded ingredients.
Quoted CBD dosages for the line range from a high of 16 mg per serving down to 10 mg.
Shade said making CBD work in his self assembling nanoparticle delivery system took some doing.
“We have been doing the R&D on these products for a couple of years,” he said. “We have been making nanoparticles for more than 10 years, and we’ve got them down into the 20 nanometer range.”
Benefits of fast uptake
Shade said the bioavailability boost that his technology can deliver for CBD can have an important effect. For certain ingredients, most proteins, to take one example, it’s a hard case to make that faster uptake will result in greater health benefits as opposed to a certain overall uptake over time. But CBD is acting on certain pathways where an acute higher level in the blood could be of benefit, Shade maintained.
“What speed of delivery does is to focus the dose into a smaller window. Sometimes what formulators are trying to get is activation of certain gene sets that would turn down inflammation. The CBD and other botanicals [in the new line of products] are working on this gene trigger level and there you want a fast delivery,” he said.