Michael Satow, President and CEO of Nutrition 21, said: "Nitrosigine is an exciting addition to our ingredient division and we anticipate it will allow our customers to impact consumers in the sports nutrition, cardiovascular health and men’s health categories. Nitrosigine also validates our ability to develop patent-protected NDIs.”
Pre-clinical studies have indicated that the ingredient is superior to arginine in blood flow markers. It has also been shown to positively affect silicon absorption, providing evidence of health benefits applicable to many market categories, said the company. Nutrition 21 anticipates that human data will be published in Q3 2013.
“The benefits seen with Nitrosigine in enhancing coronary blood flow can also be applied to other categories, including sports nutrition and men’s health,” said James Komorowski, MS, CNS, Vice President Scientific and Regulatory Affairs at Nutrition 21.
“Arginine has been studied extensively since 1998 as a natural metabolic donor of nitric oxide. There is also accumulated evidence over the past 35 years suggesting an important role for silicon in connective tissue and for bone health. Nitrosigine provides the benefits of arginine and silicon, with additional benefits from the unique combination.”
Dr James Russell from the Alberta Institute for Human Nutrition at the University of Alberta, Canada was the lead researcher of an animal study published in Metabolism – Clinical and Experimental (2007, Vol. 56, pp. 1318-1325).
That study concluded: “The arginine silicate inositol complex is absorbed efficiently, raising plasma arginine levels, and is more biologically effective than the free amino acid hydrochloride.”
“Our research has shown significant protective effects of the novel amino acid compound arginine silicate in an animal model of the Metabolic Syndrome with treatment reversing impaired function of the coronary arteries,” added Dr Russell.