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Home > Weight Loss News > InterHealth Nutraceuticals Researchers Warn Against Toxic HCA Lactone
InterHealth Nutraceuticals Researchers Warn Against Toxic HCA Lactone
Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) August 9, 2005 -- In a letter (1) published June 30, 2005, researchers at InterHealth Nutraceuticals indicated that findings of toxicity with a (–)-hydroxycitric acid product tested in Japan are due to the high amount of HCA lactone found in the Japanese item. The Japanese product was produced for Nippon Shinyaku by Renaissance Herbs, Inc. of Chatsworth, California.
At high dosages, the Renaissance Herbs HCA in long-term animal experiments led to a failure of the testicles to properly develop. Trials with fully reacted HCA salts produced by other companies have not shown any significant side effects or toxicity, a point made by the InterHealth scientists.
Similar results of stunted testicular development were discovered by Roche Pharmaceuticals approximately 35 years ago in tests of the ethylenediamine salt of HCA. According to Dallas Clouatre, Ph.D., author of "The Diet and Health Benefits of HCA" (1994), “Researchers at Roche concluded that the ethylenediamine HCA salt chelates the mineral zinc from the system. Zinc is required for proper testicular development and health. (–)-Hydroxycitric acid in both its free acid and lactone forms is known to be a powerful chelator of minerals and therefore should not be consumed as either the free acid or the lactone.
"I argued against the consumption of the free acid and lactone more than a decade ago and all the major manufacturers of HCA were aware of Roche’s experience. Therefore, I am somewhat surprised that any company would have produced such a product.”
The negative health findings implicating HCA free acid and lactone pose problems for manufacturers of beverages intended to include HCA as a functional ingredient. Even fully reacted HCA salts slowly lactonize over time when included in beverages, especially low pH (acid) beverages and any beverage that has been pasteurized. Although there may be little free acid or lactone present at the time of manufacture, under normal conditions the lactone content of drinks will usually increase significantly within a short period.
The burden is on makers of clear beverages containing HCA to show that there is no significant amount of the HCA free acid or lactone present in their products. HCA lactone poses a particular problem for pre-adolescent and adolescent males, pregnant women and those with prostate issues.
In contrast with the free acid and lactone forms of HCA, fully reacted HCA salts improve the mineral status of the body, a finding that led to Glykon Technologies Group’s US Patent No. 6,441,041. William Matheny, a partner at Glykon, affirms that the company produces only fully reacted HCA salts. “We are committed to efficacy. Our HCA products not only are fully reacted, but also make use of special patented delivery systems to avoid interaction with food and other ingredients.”
(1) Burdock G, Bagchi M, Bagchi D. Garcinia cambogia toxicity is misleading. Food Chem Toxicol. 2005 Jun 30. This is a letter response to Saito M, et al. High dose of Garcinia cambogia is effective in suppressing fat accumulation in developing male Zucker obese rats, but highly toxic to the testis. Food Chem Toxicol. 2005 Mar;43(3):411-9. These toxicity issues were first raised in Japan in 2001 and 2002 in official Japanese government findings, although the concerns have yet to be acknowledged in the US by the companies involved.
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