In the News

The Korea Ginseng Association Introduces Literature Review on Effects of Korean Ginseng in Cancer Treatment

Muno-Vax's "Exciting" Ingredient Is a Game-Changer

COVID-19 Can Trigger Self-Attacking Antibodies

Substantial Weight Loss Can Reduce Risk of Severe COVID-19 Complications

Choline during pregnancy impacts children's sustained attention

Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine Signs Cooperation Agreement with PAHO/WHO

Vit K2 Impacts Children's Health, Disease: New Review

The Korea Ginseng Association Introduces Literature Review on Effects of Korean Ginseng in Cancer Treatment

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, which leads to symptoms such as pain, lethargy, and shortness of breath, reducing the patient's quality of life and causing excruciating pain. The Korea Ginseng Association has introduced a literature review that suggested potential benefits of Korean ginseng for cancer patients based on scientific evidence.

Korean ginseng refers to all ginseng produced in Korea. The genus name Panax in its scientific name (Panax ginseng) means "all cure" in Greek - it has been considered to be the most precious plant among herbs since ancient times. Korean ginseng is especially recognized for its high quality around the world, as the country of origin which accounts for almost half of the worldwide production.

Professor Kim Bong-Yi of the College of Oriental Medicine at Kyunghee University and his team have summarized the effects of ginseng extract and metabolites (compound K; ginsenoside Rh1, Rh2, Rh3 & F1) in cancer treatment in their literature review, which has been significant in that it lays the foundation for research that can be applied to treatment by focusing on the effects of ginseng extract and metabolites in treating each of the five major cancers.

The research team analyzed 10 cell culture experiments and 1 clinical trial to find out the effects of ginseng extract and its mechanism on cancer. The ginseng showed positive effects in aiding the treatment of cancer by inducing apoptosis of tumor cells in lung, colon and gastric cancers in the former; and the improved psychological and physical conditions were observed from subjects who had taken 300 mg of ginseng extract for 60 days in the latter, such as the invigoration and fatigue recovery. It was also confirmed that the ginseng extract could be capable of suppressing the toxicity of chemotherapy.

"It is my pleasure to prove the history and excellence of Korean ginseng with literature review that has laid the foundation for the development of new anticancer drugs using ginseng," said Mr. Jang, the Secretary of the Korea Ginseng Association. "Korean ginseng has always been regarded to be capable of aiding in health - we hope it further enhances Korean ginseng's reputation and provide a healthy life to people around the world."

For detailed information on Korean ginseng: http://korean-ginseng.org/en2/

SOURCE The Korea Ginseng Association

Muno-Vax's "Exciting" Ingredient Is a Game-Changer

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Dec. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Muno-Vax is a nutritional supplement provider that goes beyond providing simple nutritional ingredients. The company and its manufacturing partner have developed a unique immuno-modulator that takes the concept of a "supplement" to the next level.

Many of Muno-Vax's products have been developed after decades of research in the field of immunostimulation. Commonly used to fight cancer, the concept of immune stimulation focuses on broadly stimulating the immune system rather than focusing on a specific ailment within the body. This stimulation is meant to increase the body's natural defense mechanism, helping to fight off invaders in a natural rather than invasive manner.

In the case of Muno-Vax, though, the target is not cancer cells. Instead, the company's products focus on alleviating a variety of other concerns. Company spokesperson Dr. Beau Raines explains that "the products were created to fill a great void in products that promote immune health to prevent respiratory illnesses, gingivitis, and men's prostate health."

Dr. Raines goes on to explain what it is that sets Muno-Vax products apart as a unique supplement solution. "Our products contain a potent immuno-modulator that no other products contain. These products contain certain lipopolysaccharides and immune-building antioxidants that present a harmless stimulant to the immune system and will keep the immune system in a constant state of 'excitement', which will, in turn, help prevent respiratory infections."

In other words, Muno-Vax products contain a revolutionary immuno-modulator that can stimulate the immune system. It acts as an 'antigen' that encourages a response from certain white blood cells. This provokes the body into fighting off infections, both of a bacterial and viral nature.

While there are many immunity-boosting products on the market at this point, the presence of Muno-Vax's immuno-modulator sets it apart as a one-of-a-kind solution that goes beyond providing general nutritional value. It actively works to bolster the body's natural defense system.

According to Dr. Raines, the immuno-modulator doesn't just target the immune system as a whole, either. "These products can actually stimulate specific immune systems of the body, such as the respiratory immune system, the oral mucosa for prevention and treatment of gingivitis, and the male prostate gland for a healthy prostate gland."

The ingredient's ability to stimulate targeted areas of the body stands out as a game-changing advantage that only Muno-Vax and its European partner, Natstim, claim to possess. As the growing field of immunostimulation continues to develop, it will be fascinating to see what part this pair of growing companies will continue to have in helping to bring these scientific discoveries to consumers in the form of potent, targeted, and accessible supplements.

About Muno-Vax: Muno-Vax is an American company that works in close association with its manufacturing partner, Bulgarian-based Natstim, Ltd. Together, the two brands represent 30 years of combined scientific research in relation to both preventing infections and bolstering the immune system. The company is most well-known for its unique, patented ingredient, which it refers to as an immuno-modulator. This is used to stimulate the immune system and increase its effectiveness against foreign invaders.

COVID-19 Can Trigger Self-Attacking Antibodies

Infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 can trigger an immune response that lasts well beyond the initial infection and recovery-even among people who had mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, according to Cedars-Sinai investigators. The findings are published in the Journal of Translational Medicine.

When people are infected with a virus or other pathogen, their bodies unleash proteins called antibodies that detect foreign substances and keep them from invading cells. In some cases, however, people produce autoantibodies that can attack the body's own organs and tissues over time.

The Cedars-Sinai investigators found that people with prior infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, have a wide variety of autoantibodies up to six months after they have fully recovered. Prior to this study, researchers knew that severe cases of COVID-19 can stress the immune system so much that autoantibodies are produced. This study is the first to report not only the presence of elevated autoantibodies after mild or asymptomatic infection, but their persistence over time.

"These findings help to explain what makes COVID-19 an especially unique disease," said Justyna Fert-Bober, PhD, research scientist in the Department of Cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute and co-senior author of the study. "These patterns of immune dysregulation could be underlying the different types of persistent symptoms we see in people who go on to develop the condition now referred to as long COVID-19."

To conduct their study, the Cedars-Sinai research team recruited 177 people with confirmed evidence of a previous infection with SARS-CoV-2. They compared blood samples from these individuals with samples taken from healthy people prior to the pandemic. All those with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection had elevated levels of autoantibodies. Some of the autoantibodies also have been found in people with diseases in which the immune system attacks its own healthy cells, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

"We found signals of autoantibody activity that are usually linked to chronic inflammation and injury involving specific organ systems and tissues such as the joints, skin and nervous system," said Susan Cheng, MD, MPH, MMSc, director of the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging in the Department of Cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute and co-senior author of the study.

Some of the autoantibodies have been linked to autoimmune diseases that typically affect women more often than men. In this study, however, men had a higher number of elevated autoantibodies than women.

"On the one hand, this finding is paradoxical given that autoimmune conditions are usually more common in females," Fert-Bober said. "On the other hand, it is also somewhat expected given all that we know about males being more vulnerable to the most severe forms of COVID-19."

The research team is interested in expanding the study to look for the types of autoantibodies that may be present and persist in people with long-haul COVID-19 symptoms. Because this study was in people infected before the advent of vaccines, the researchers will also examine whether autoantibodies are similarly generated in people with breakthrough infections.

"If we can better understand these autoantibody responses, and how it is that SARS-CoV-2 infection triggers and drives these variable responses, then we can get one step closer to identifying ways to treat and even prevent these effects from developing in people at risk," Cheng said.

Source: Cedars-Sinai

Substantial Weight Loss Can Reduce Risk of Severe COVID-19 Complications

A Cleveland Clinic study shows that among patients with obesity, prior weight loss achieved with bariatric surgery was associated with a 60% lower risk of developing severe complications from COVID-19 infection. The research was published in the journal JAMA Surgery.

Numerous studies have established obesity as a major risk factor for developing serious illness from an infection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Obesity weakens the immune system, creates a chronic inflammatory state, and increases risk for cardiovascular disease, blood clots, and lung conditions. All of these conditions can complicate COVID-19.

The aim of this study was to examine whether a successful weight-loss intervention in patients with obesity prior to contracting COVID-19 could reduce the risk of developing a severe form of this disease.

"The research findings show that patients with obesity who achieved substantial and sustained weight loss with bariatric surgery prior to a COVID-19 infection reduced their risk of developing severe illness by 60 percent," said Ali Aminian, M.D., lead author of the study and director of Cleveland Clinic's Bariatric & Metabolic Institute. "Our study provides strong evidence that obesity is a modifiable risk factor for COVID-19 that can be improved through a successful weight-loss intervention."

A total of 20,212 adult patients with obesity were included in this observational study. A group of 5,053 patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or greater who had weight-loss surgery between 2004 and 2017 were carefully matched 1:3 to non-surgical patients, resulting in 15,159 control patients. Compared with those in the non-surgical group, patients who had bariatric surgery lost 19% more body weight prior to March 1, 2020 (the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Cleveland).

After the COVID-19 outbreak, researchers looked at four COVID-19-related outcomes: rate of contracting SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalization, need for supplemental oxygen and severe disease (defined as a combination of ICU admission, need for mechanical ventilation or death).

Although the rate of contracting SARS-CoV-2 was similar between the groups (9.1% in the surgical group and 8.7% in the non-surgical group), participants in the weight-loss surgery group experienced much better outcomes after contracting COVID-19 compared with those in the non-surgical group. Researchers found that patients with prior weight loss surgery had a 49% lower risk of hospitalization, 63% lower risk of need for supplemental oxygen, and 60% lower risk of developing severe COVID-19.

Although the exact underlying mechanisms are not known, these data suggest that patients who underwent weight-loss surgery were healthier at the time of contracting a SARS-CoV-2 infection, which resulted in better clinical outcomes.

"Striking findings from the current study support the reversibility of the health consequences of obesity in the patients with COVID-19," said the study's senior author, Steven Nissen, M.D., Chief Academic Officer of the Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic. "This study suggests that an emphasis on weight loss as a public health strategy can improve outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic and future outbreaks or related infectious diseases. That is a very important finding considering that 40% of Americans have obesity. "

This study was funded by a research grant from Medtronic. Medtronic had no role in the design, conduct and publication of the study.

About Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland Clinic- now in its centennial year - is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation.

Choline during pregnancy impacts children's sustained attention

Seven-year-old children performed better on a challenging task requiring sustained attention if their mothers consumed twice the recommended amount of choline during their pregnancy, a new Cornell study has found.

The study, which compared these children with those whose mothers had consumed the recommended amount of choline, suggests that the recommended choline intake for expectant mothers does not fully meet the needs of the fetal brain.

"Our findings suggest population-wide benefits of adding choline to a standard prenatal vitamin regimen," said Barbara Strupp, professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences (DNS) and Department of Psychology, and co-senior author of the study, "Prenatal Choline Supplementation Improves Child Sustained Attention: A Seven-Year Follow-Up of a Randomized Controlled Feeding Trial," published Dec. 28 in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

First author of the study is Charlotte Bahnfleth, Ph.D. '19, a former graduate student in the Strupp Laboratory. Co-senior author is Richard Canfield, senior research associate in DNS. Marie Caudill, professor in DNS, was also a co-author.

Choline - found in egg yolks, lean red meat, fish, poultry, legumes, nuts and cruciferous vegetables - is absent from most prenatal vitamins, and more than 90% of expectant mothers consume less than the recommended amount.

Several decades of research using rodent models has shown that adding extra choline to the maternal diet produces long term cognitive benefits for the offspring. In addition to improving offspring attention and memory throughout life, maternal choline supplementation in rodents has proven to be neuroprotective for the offspring by mitigating the cognitive adversities caused by prenatal stress, fetal alcohol exposure, autism, epilepsy, Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease.

In the Cornell study, all women consumed a prepared diet with a specified amount of choline throughout the third trimester of pregnancy. One half of these women consumed 480 mg choline per day, which slightly exceeds the recommended adequate intake (AI) level of 450 mg/day. The other half consumed a total intake of 930 mg choline per day, approximately double the AI level.

When tested at 7 years of age, the children of women in the 480 mg/day group showed a decline in accuracy from the beginning to the end of a sustained attention task, while those from the 930 mg/day group maintained a high level of accuracy throughout the task. These findings parallel the effects of maternal choline supplementation and deprivation in rodents, using a closely analogous sustained attention task.

"By demonstrating that maternal choline supplementation in humans produces offspring attentional benefits that are similar to those seen in animals," Strupp said, "our findings suggest that the full range of cognitive and neuroprotective benefits demonstrated in rodents may also be seen in humans."

The new findings build on a previous study from this research group describing benefits during infancy. That study demonstrated that maternal choline supplementation improved information processing speed throughout the first year of life in these same children.

Few studies with human subjects have evaluated the effect of maternal choline supplementation and this is the first study to follow the children to school age.

"By showing that the beneficial effects of prenatal supplementation endure into childhood, these findings illustrate a role for prenatal choline in programming the course of child cognitive development," Canfield said. "And because the ability to sustain attention in challenging situations is critical to nearly all areas of cognitive performance, the cumulative impact of improving sustained attention is likely to be substantial."

Current recommendations - including those for pregnant women - were set in 1998 and are based on the amount of choline needed to prevent liver dysfunction in men, studies have shown.

This research was funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Balchem Corp. Bahnfleth was supported by an NICHD Traineeship and the Egg Nutrition Center Young Investigator Research Award for Early Exploration.

Source: Cornell University

Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine Signs Cooperation Agreement with PAHO/WHO

The Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine (AIHM) has signed a cooperation agreement with the Pan American Health Organization, Regional Office of the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), and the Biblioteca Regional de Medicina (BIREME), to expand technical and scientific cooperation in traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine. AIHM is the world's largest interprofessional integrative health association and a leading think tank on the value of transforming healthcare to establish a collaborative, holistic approach to health and wellness.

AIHM and PAHO/WHO will work together on projects and activities to promote primary health care, capacity building, evidence synthesis, and information dissemination, through the implementation of existing international instruments within the PAHO/WHO. These include:

The PAHO Universal Health Strategy

The PAHO Policy on Ethnicity and Health

The PAHO Sustainable Health Agenda for the Americas 2018-2030

The WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023

The WHO Framework on People-Centered Integrated Health Services

"We are thrilled to be working with PAHO/WHO to advance holistic, integrative health throughout the Americas," said AIHM Executive Director Tabatha Parker, ND. "When health systems include traditional, complementary and integrative health, it is a win for patients, communities and the planet."

"This agreement is expected to greatly contribute to the collaborative development of information products and services for traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine," said Dr. Diego Gonzalez, BIREME's director at the agreement kick-off meeting. Such products are expected to benefit both Latin American and Caribbean countries, as well as the United States and Canada. They will also be available to the larger global community.

About AIHM

Founded in 1978, the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine (AIHM) is the leading interprofessional organization for traditional, complementary and integrative health practitioners worldwide. In 2001, AIHM merged with the Academic Collaborative of Integrative Health (ACIH). Together, they are working to advance integrative health on a global scale and transform health and wellness through education, leadership, collaboration, research and advocacy. For more information, visit aihm.org or follow @aihmglobal on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

About PAHO/WHO

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is the specialized international health agency for the Americas and serves as Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO), the specialized health agency of the United Nations. From its Washington, D.C., headquarters, 27 country offices, and three specialized centers in the region, PAHO promotes evidence-based decision-making to improve and promote health as a driver of sustainable development. For more information, visit paho.org.

Company Website https://aihm.org

Vit K2 Impacts Children's Health, Disease: New Review

Literature review documents safe use and important health effects of vitamin K2 in child populations, noting consideration for pregnant and nursing women.

Children has published an important review paper that documents vitamin K2's role in various physiological processes, its safe history of use, and that children express the greatest need for K2 supplementation.

The paper, "The Impact of Vitamin K2 (Menaquinones) in Children's Health and Disease: A Review of the Literature "¹, presents a thoughtful organization of data highlighting the differences between vitamins K1 and K2, as well as K2 as menaquinone-4 (MK-4) and as MK-7; factors contributing to the prevalence of K deficiency; and how child populations can benefit from correcting this deficiency, according to Dr. Katarzyna Maresz, president of the International Science and Health Foundation, and co-author to this paper.

"Vitamin K2 activates K-dependent proteins that support many biological functions, including bone mineralization, the inhibition of vascular stiffness, the improvement of endothelial function, the maintenance of strong teeth, brain development, joint health, and optimal body weight," Dr. Maresz explains. "Due to the transformation of food habits in developed countries over the last ?ve decades, vitamin K and, speci?cally, vitamin K2 intakes among parents and their offspring have decreased signi?cantly, resulting in serious health implications. The therapeutics used in pediatric practice (antibiotics and glucocorticoids) are also to blame for this situation."

Dr. Maresz teamed with a nutritionist colleague at Jagiellonian University Medical College to complete the review, in which they discuss K2 as MK-7 supplementation is worth considering for expectant mothers as a means of setting their children on the best path to health. "The lack of adverse effects of MK-7 makes it the ideal choice for supplementation by pregnant and nursing women and children, both healthy and suffering from various malabsorptions and health disorders, such as dyslipidemia, diabetes, thalassemia major (TM), cystic ?brosis (CF), in?ammatory bowel diseases (IBD), and chronic liver diseases," the authors write.

"As we continue our pursuit of a K2-specific Recommended Daily Intake (RDI), this review serves as a substantial argument," says Dr. Hogne Vik, Chief Medical Officer with Gnosis by Lesaffre. "Particularly as it illustrates the overwhelming impact K2 deficiency has on child populations, and it illustrates how parents' deficiencies feed into the state of their children's health. We have stressed for more than a decade the impact that Vitamin K2 can have on children's health. As thrilling as it was to see the first child-specific formulas featuring MenaQ7 K2 hit the market a few years ago, we have so much more to do to improve the health of our children."

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Reference:

1 Kozio?-Kozakowska, A.; Maresz, K. The Impact of Vitamin K2 (Menaquionones) in Children's Health and Diseases: A Review of the Literature. Children 2022, 9, 78. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9010078

About Gnosis by Lesaffre

Gnosis by Lesaffre harnesses the power of microorganisms and biotransformation processes like fermentation to cultivate nutritional actives, probiotics, and nutritional and functional yeasts that benefit human health and wellbeing. The team draws on its focused research and applications capabilities to collaborate with nutraceutical and pharmaceutical brands to develop game-changing products for their customers.

For more information, please contact:

Kate Quackenbush, Communications Director, k.quackenbush@gnosis.lesaffre.com, +1 609-454-2992 x220