As new evidence comes to the fore and new analytical tools become available, looking at what is happening in the cellular aging process in real time is becoming a real possibility. In years past looking at the effect of various nutraceuticals in healthy aging relied on cruder measures, such as having subjects respond to questionnaires about how they’re feeling.
One of the key aspects of cellular health is how well the cell’s energy machinery functions. As that degrades, so do cellular activities of all sorts. Keeping that machinery functioning as well as possible for as long as possible is the purpose of Bioenergy’s RiaGev ingredient, which was launched in 2019.
Ingredient works on three phases
Michael Crabtree, ND, director of scientific affairs for BioEnergy, said three phases of energy production in the cell are important and involve the CoQ10, glutathione and NAD+ pathways, the latter of which results in the production of ATP, the key energy currency within the cell.
RiaGev, which was launched in 2019, is a pairing of the company’s patented D-ribose sugar and a coated, extended release nicotinamide ingredient. Crabtree said new data the company has assembled on the ingredient shows that it has a role to play in all three acts of the cell’s energy play.
“When we started experimenting with this fusion of ribose with nicotinamide, we found that when you put these things together in a specific ratio you got the benefits of all three of these systems being bolstered at the same time,” he said.
New data looks promising
Crabtree said a new human study which is in the final process of publication shows that the ingredient boosts NAD+ levels while also preserving glutathione levels. He said some ingredients can deplete glutathione in this process in a robbing-Peter-to-pay-Paul kind of way. And in a separate finding, he said the recent study will show that RiaGev supplementation helps quell expression of cortisol, one of the body’s main stress hormones.
“With RiaGev, we’re not just seeing an NAD increase. We’re seeing simultaneous increases in three specific biochemical markers: NAD+, glutathione and cortisol. Other ingredients in this category cannot do this,” Crabtree added.
Bioenergy recently distributed a prototype of RiaGev in a finished food, which is a first for the company. The ingredient was placed in a chewy granola bits snack prototype that could support a healthy aging claim. One of the advantages of the ingredient is its neutral taste that needs no flavor masking. On the down side, marketing director Penny Portner said thus far the RiaGev ingredient performs best in a no-bake application, as higher heat might serve to damage the ingredient’s proprietary structure.
Cellular aging event
NutraIngredients-USA is hosting a FREE online event in the Health Aging Space scheduled for April 29. The event, subtitled The Cellular Revolution, will look at the rapidly emerging science and product development news in this space. The event will feature Jeffrey Bland, PhD, founder of Big Bold Health and the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute, consultant Guru Ramanathan, PhD, former director of innovation for GNC and William S. Harris, PhD, of the Fatty Acid Research Institute. For more information and to register, click here.
