Nutrition 21, LLC, Purchase, NY, a developer and marketer of nutritional ingredients, has launched of Nitrosigine, a novel patented source of inositol-stabilized arginine silicate accepted by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a New Dietary Ingredient (NDI). In pre-clinical studies, Nitrosigine has been shown to demonstrate superiority over arginine in blood flow markers and has been shown to positively affect silicon absorption, providing evidence of health benefits applicable to many market categories.
 
“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,” explained Michael Satow, president and CEO of Nutrition 21.
 
Primary investigator, Dr. James C. Russell, Professor Emeritus, Department of Surgery, Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases Laboratory at the Alberta Institute for Human Nutrition, University of Alberta, Canada and his colleagues conducted one of the preclinical studies, entitled “Metabolic Effects of a Novel Silicate Inositol Complex of the Nitric Oxide Precursor Arginine in the Obese Insulin-resistant JCR:LA-cp Rat.”  Their research concluded that the arginine silicate inositol complex is absorbed efficiently; raising plasma arginine levels, and is more biologically effective than arginine hydrochloride. Dr. Russell stated, “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.”
 
“The benefits seen with Nitrosigine in enhancing coronary blood flow can also be applied to other categories, including sports nutrition and men’s health. 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,” said James Komorowski, MS, CNS, vice president scientific and regulatory ffairs at Nutrition 21.
 
Research has shown dramatic protective effects of the novel amino acid compound arginine silicate in pre-clinical studies. Results with human subjects are anticipated for Q3 2013.
 
Other findings include:
– Nitrosigine almost doubles maximum blood flow compared to Arginine HCI and is 4x greater than Control
– Nitrosigine blood vessel relaxation is almost 5x greater than Arginine HCI
– Nitrosigine supplementation significantly increased silicon blood levels compared to normal dietary intake
 
“Nutrition 21 is thrilled to begin selling our NDI accepted, Nitrosigine. Based on pre-clinical results, Nitrosigine demonstrated superiority over arginine as shown by increases in blood flow markers and silicon absorption. We anticipate significant market interest with strong customer sales,” said Michael Quinn, executive director, national sales at Nutrition 21.