What you need to know when buying R-Lipoic Acid..."the sticky truth"
R-Lipoic Acid (RLA) is one of the most important
and exciting new nutraceutical compounds to hit the market. It is a powerful
antioxidant, a critical co-factor in ATP production and has been shown to
be more effective by a factor of 10 over the commercially available Alpha
Lipoic Acid in several bio-tests. This implies that S-LA found in Alpha Lipoic
Acid is interfering with the body's utilization of the natural R form. To
learn more about what exactly is the difference between SLA and RLA click
HERE
R-Lipoic Acid naturally polymerizes into a glue-like substance.
RLA is a highly unstable compound that easily breaks down into a sticky rubber or glue-like substance if it is not prepared, stored and processed correctly. Even under the best conditions, regular RLA is extremely unstable. Exposure to air, light, moisture and temperatures slightly above ambient drastically reduces shelf life and increases the formation of this unwanted bi-product that may impair its intended benefit.
When you buy regular RLA:
When you buy HUMAX
R-Lipoic Acid
Specifications for HUMAX R-Lipoic Acid:
Only RLA of the highest purity is utilized, after
independent analysis confirms the RLA/SLA ratio. Our typical RLA content >99.4%,
SLA=0.2-0.6% with a total ALA content of > 99.8%. The polymer content of
the starting material is typically between 0.2-0.4%.
THE DEVELOPING RLA MARKET
Now that the differences between racemic alpha lipoic acid (bubble: A mixture of 50%SLA and 50% RLA) and pure RLA are becoming known, many new companies are attempting to manufacture and introduce RLA products into the market. Several of these companies have not been able to consistently produce a quality product with high RLA only purity. There are wide variations in the R/S ratios and total polymer contents of raw material and finished products.
Other companies have not passed on information concerning RLA instability because their products have not been analyzed with state-of-the-art tests (Bubble the test is called Enantioselective HPLC and shows how much SLA and RLA content is in a mixture)to identify RLA only purity. Frequently other supplement companies or on line stores are relying solely on the manufacturer's Certificate of Analysis or are sending samples to analytical labs whose analysts have limited experience with chirality testing (to learn more about chirality click HERE ), which reveals the RLA and SLA ratios and total polymer content.
We keep hearing from customers that several otherwise reputable analytical labs claim that it is impossible to test the R/S ratio by HPLC. There are several peer reviewed articles utilizing three different enantioselective tests for quantifying both RLA and SLA in the literature.
Few supplement companies and even fewer on-line vendors have experience with RLA and are unaware of the myriad problems associated with its encapsulation and stability. The heat of friction and exposure to air during normal blending and encapsulation processes are sufficient to initiate the HYPERLINK "http://www.geronova.com/polymers-of-lipoic-acid.PDF" polymerization of both RLA and ALA (although the heat stability is slightly higher for the racemic mixture).
Since the beginning of 2003, dozens of new companies have introduced RLA in finished products with widely varying prices and quality. Learn more HERE link
Not all R-Lipoic Acid products are created equal
HUMAX tests it’s RLA at every step of the
manufacturing process to ensure that we provide our customers with only the
highest quality and highest purity R-Lipoic Acid available.
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