Top 5 reasons why Actiful® is a good ingredient for your energy supplement
Top 5 reasons why Actiful® is a good addition to your energy supplement
The need for healthy ingredients that have undergone extensive clinical testing is increasing as consumers become more interested in dietary supplements that improve energy. The abundance of ingredients available can feel overpowering for supplement formulators who aim to create a product that promotes energy and vitality. But don’t worry – in this article, we’ll cover the top five reasons why Actiful® is a good ingredient for your energy supplement.
Finding ingredients for the rising demand in energy supplements
Low energy levels and a lack of vitality are common complaints in today’s fast-paced world. Many consumers turn to dietary supplements to manage the daily mental and physical stressors they face. Energy-enhancing supplements aim to prevent fatigue, increase physical activity, and promote social engagement.
With the growing demand for energy-enhancing products, it can be challenging to identify scientifically backed ingredients. To simplify the process, we’ve compiled the top 5 reasons why Actiful should be included in your energy supplement as an ingredient.
Actiful®: A combination of sweet orange and pomegranate
Actfiul® is a patent-protected, all-natural ingredient developed by BioActor; a pioneer in clinically substantiating the beneficial impact of citrus flavonoids on energy metabolism. Actiful® is standardized for hesperidin and punicalagin; the main polyphenols found in sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) and the peel of pomegranate (Punica granatum), respectively. Both compounds have been extensively studied for their potential health benefits.
Top 5 reasons to use Actiful® as an ingredient for your energy supplement
1. Enhanced physical performance in both young and old
A double-blind randomized controlled trial conducted on physically fit young males revealed that Actiful® can increase absolute power output by 5% during a 10-minute cycling time-trial without requiring additional oxygen (1). This advantage was observed after just four weeks of daily supplementation with Actiful®.
In addition, a recently published double-blind randomized controlled trial conducted on active seniors found that daily supplementation with Actiful® for four weeks significantly increased their handgrip strength (2). Handgrip strength is a crucial measure of physical fitness in the elderly as it is indicative of overall health and functional status in day-to-day life.
Given that Actiful® has been clinically proven to enhance physical performance in both young and older individuals, it is an ideal ingredient to target a wide population.
2. Mental health benefits
Mental wellbeing plays a significant role in physical fitness, as the way one handles cognitive demanding tasks can affect how energized they feel.
In addition to improved physical performance, the elderly subjects who supplemented with Actiful® also experienced psychological benefits. Compared to the placebo group, the Actiful® group demonstrated significant improvements in cognitive domains such as thinking, memory, learning, and concentration (2). These elements are essential for maintaining one’s quality of life and wellbeing.
Given the critical connection between the mind and body in enhancing vitality, Actiful® is the ideal ingredient to target both.
3. Mitochondria
Boosting your energy can be done by targeting mitochondria, which are the powerhouses of the cell.
A strategy to target the mitochondria is by implementing specific nutrients into your diet. Actiful® enhances energy levels via mitochondria as well. Experiments in muscle cells have demonstrated that Hesperetin, the active metabolite of Hesperidin, can improve energy production by directly targeting the mitochondria (3).
This improvement in energy production has been observed to translate into improved running performance in mice. The mechanism behind this is that Actiful® improves the respiration capacity of the mitochondria.
To produce energy, mitochondria require oxygen to form an electron gradient across the intermembrane, which mechanically produces ATP. When protons leak across the intermembrane, the gradient weakens, resulting in fewer ATP molecules being formed. By inhibiting proton leakage across the mitochondrial intermembrane, Actiful® enhances energy production directly.
4. Antioxidant
During physical activity, there is a heightened production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to the increased demand on mitochondria to produce energy. Excessive ROS can lead to damage to the mitochondria and other crucial structures of the cell, which can impair their functionality.
Hesperidin has been demonstrated to not only scavenge ROS directly but also enhance the natural antioxidant systems present in cells (3). In addition, pomegranate has also been found to improve antioxidant status (4).
As a result, Actiful®’s antioxidant capabilities may improve vitality by preserving the functionality of cells and tissues.
5. NO improved bloodflow
Nitric oxide (NO) is a critical component in regulating blood flow. NO relaxes the blood vessels, increasing their diameter, and allowing more oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to pass through.
Endothelial cells that line the blood vessels produce more NO through the enzyme eNOS, which Hesperidin has been found to activate, promoting vasodilation (5).
Furthermore, when oxygen is limited, dietary nitrate can raise NO levels. Pomegranate, which is high in Punicalagin, is a potent source of dietary nitrate that may improve blood flow and increase the efficiency of oxygen and nutrient delivery.
Actiful®: the key ingredient of your energy supplement
All in all, Actiful® is a natural and safe ingredient that has the ideal properties to be incorporated in energy supplements that aim to provide acute and sustained improvements in vitality!
Simple ways to boost your cardiovascular health
Simple ways to boost your cardiovascular health
Cardiovascular health refers to the health of the cardiovascular system. Its definition is based on all the behaviors and health factors that, when optimal, are associated with better cardiovascular disease-free survival and quality of life. Choosing a healthy diet, being more active, and maintaining normal blood lipid and glucose levels are some of the strategies that help to maintain great cardiovascular health throughout our lives.
How to define cardiovascular health?
The American Heart Association has provided a number of metric definitions that can be used to classify poor, intermediate, or ideal cardiovascular health. These include diet, physical activity, smoking, sleep, weight, blood and glucose levels, and blood pressure.
Pursuing a healthier lifestyle from a young age is a great strategy for maintaining ideal cardiovascular health throughout our lives. This will result in a lower risk of developing cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, strokes, atherosclerosis, peripheral artery disease, and vein diseases (1).
In this article, we will dive into the 7 ways to improve your cardiovascular health!
Healthy eating behaviors
Creating a healthy eating pattern represents an easy way to improve your cardiovascular health. This means preferring certain foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, plant-based proteins, fish and limiting sweetened drinks, alcohol, full-fat dairy products, and highly processed foods.
Avoiding trans-fat and partially hydrogenated oils that are contained in many commercial baked goods represents another good and easy strategy to improve your eating habits (1).
Poly-phenols derived from olives also have many beneficial effects and represent a promising, natural ingredient for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (2).
Quit smoking
Smoking is deleterious for your circulatory system as it increases your risk of stroke in both men and women. Cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and tobacco products contain many toxic chemicals, as do their smoke, and liquids. Several beneficial changes occur after quitting smoking and within 1 year after quitting, your risk of heart disease goes down by half (1).
Increase your physical activity levels
Regular exercise and physical activity are associated with remarkable health benefits. Adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity or a combination of both, throughout the week. Parking farther away from your work or taking the stairs instead of the elevator contributes to your physical activity levels and improves your health benefits (1).
Improve your sleep quality
Sleep plays a crucial role in your overall health and well-being. Short sleep duration or poor sleep quality is associated with high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, and atherosclerosis. These conditions can be prevented by aiming for an average of 7-9 hours of good sleep a day (1).
Control your body weight
Maintaining a healthy weight, defined as a body mass index between 18.5 and 24.9 for adults, can help reduce the risk of many heart problems such as heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure.
A few strategies that can help control your body weight include choosing a healthy diet, increasing your physical activity levels, limiting alcohol, avoiding stress, and improving your sleep quality (1).
Maintain normal blood lipid and glucose levels
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that your body needs, in the right amounts, for good health. Unhealthy levels of cholesterol can lead to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, such as heart disease and stroke. Checking your cholesterol levels regularly can help you understand whether you have normal blood lipid levels.
Over time, high blood glucose levels can damage your health too. Blood glucose levels rise because of the glucose that enters the bloodstream and insulin, a hormone that helps the cells take up the glucose they can use for energy production.
A healthy diet that includes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts, plant-based proteins, and lean animal proteins, may help you control cholesterol and glucose levels. Other strategies that are good for your cholesterol and glucose levels include being more active, quitting smoke, and maintaining a healthy weight (3).
Control your blood pressure
Blood pressure is defined as the pressure of your blood on the walls of the arteries as your heart pumps it throughout your body. When your blood pressure is permanently higher than normal, the risk of heart attacks and strokes increases.
There are no signs or symptoms of high blood pressure, which means it is crucial to have regular check-ups to measure it. Simple changes to your lifestyle, such as eating healthy and being more active can help manage your blood pressure over time (4).
How to improve your cardiovascular health?
To summarize, choosing a healthy diet, quitting smoking, being more active, improving sleep health, maintaining normal blood lipid, and glucose levels, and managing your blood pressure are great strategies to lower the risk of developing cardiovascular disease thus, improving your cardiovascular health.
New publication demonstrates potential of Naxus® for alleviating IBD through gut microbiota alterations and increased butyrate production in mice
New publication demonstrates potential of Naxus® for alleviating IBD through gut microbiota alterations and increased butyrate production in mice
Press release
In the present study published in Molecules, the leading international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal of chemistry, the authors evaluated the potential positive effects of arabinoxylans (AX) contained in Naxus® on T-cell-dependent colitis. The findings of the study showed that Naxus® was able to induce peripherally induced Treg (pTreg) cells in the colon. This resulted in a reduction of T-cell-dependent chronic colitis due to the increased levels of butyrate-producing bacteria and luminal butyrate levels. These findings implicate that there could be a role for Naxus® in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.
Naxus®: a product researched and developed by BioActor
NAXUS®, an arabinoxylan extract obtained from the endosperm of wheat and is known for its beneficial health effects.
Wheat arabinoxylans (AX) are, in turn, a type of non-starch polysaccharide found in the cell walls of wheat grains. AXs are typically composed of a linear β (1-4)-linked xylan backbone with side residues of a-1-arabinofuranose units attached via α-(1-3) and/or α-(1-2) linkage.
Several clinical studies have shown that Naxus® is a powerful and well-tolerated prebiotic which induces a positive effect on the immune system and blood sugar levels by modulating the microbiome composition and Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA) production.
Effect of Naxus® on the Gut Microbiota Composition and Colonic Regulatory T Cells: in vitro and in vivo study
Introduction
The study was conducted by the group of Seita Chudan and the groups’ aim was to to understand the effect of wheat-derived arabinoxylan on gut microbiota, colonic regulatory T cells (Tregs) which are a specific subset of T cells that suppresses the immune response, and experimental colitis, this way, discussing the importance of a healthy gut microbiota and its connection to immune function and disease.
Many studies have looked at how AXs from wheat affect the bacteria and compounds in our gut, as well as a type of antibody present in the immune system called Immunoglobulin A (IgA).
However, not many studies have shown how AX might be helpful in treating Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), a condition that is characterized by inflammation of the GI tract. One recent study has looked at how AX might help with a type of IBD called DSS-induced colitis, but it’s still unclear if AX can prevent colitis.
Therefore, it is important to understand how wheat AXs affect the immune system and colitis, particularly in cases caused by the acquired immune system.
Methods
In this study, healthy and chronic colitis model mice were fed with food containing cellulose or Naxus® for 2–6 weeks and subjected to subsequent analysis of the gut microbiota composition and the number of colonic regulatory T cells in both groups.
Results
The results of this study indicate that Naxus® promotes the development of colonic pTregs and helps to reduce T-cell-dependent chronic colitis. The number of colonic regulatory T cells was significantly higher in the Naxus® group compared to the control group. These positive effects may be due to changes in the gut microbiota and increased levels of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), especially butyrate.
Table 1: Quantification of fecal SCFA in mice fed with food containing CE (cellulose) or AX (n = 8)
Butyrate is produced by certain bacteria in the Lachnospiraceae family, such as Eubacterium and Roseburia spp., Increases in Lachnospiraceae bacteria were linked to an increase in fecal butyrate concentration and a greater number of colonic Tregs in the Naxus®-fed mice.
In a T cell transfer model of chronic colitis, Naxus® was found to improve body weight loss and reduce colonic tissue inflammation, possibly through Treg induction. In addition, in this colitis model, wheat-derived arabinoxylan decreased TNFα production from type 1 helper T cells.
Therefore, Naxus® could be a useful prebiotic for preventing colitis by modifying the gut microbiota and shifting the metabolite production more towards butyrate.
Conclusion
This study shows that Naxus® has positive effects in a mouse model of chronic colitis. These improvements are linked to the alterations in the gut microenvironment by regulating the gut microbiota composition and increasing the number of colonic regulatory T cells, which could have implications for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease and other immune-related diseases.
About BioActor
BioActor, based in Maastricht, Netherlands, is a product development company that has developed a range of proprietary bioactive ingredients for the nutrition & healthcare industry. The company focuses on the development of innovative activities that address active living and healthy ageing. The goal is to provide the nutrition & healthcare industry with science-based innovations that confer a real health benefit to the consumer.
Feel free to contact via info@bioactor.com for more information on the possibilities Naxus® has to offer.
Further information can also be found on: www.naxus.nl.
