Vitazyme® A-Plus

Vitazyme® A-Plus is a retinyl palmitate/carrot protein/beta-carotene complex, which, in contrast to all commercially available forms of vitamin A, delivers the vitamin as a water-dispersible substance. This property promotes absorption and rapid utilization, particularly upon topical application. The protein part of the complex increases substantivity and reduces or eliminates completely the well-known toxicity of the fat-soluble vitamins that tend to accumulate in the adipose tissues of the body.

Vitamin A is normally utilized as the alcohol (retinol), acetate, or palmitate ester version. Its activity is expressed in terms of International Units (IU) and one IU is equivalent to 0.3 ug of pure retinol or 0.344 ug of retinol acetate. The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of vitamin A for adults is 5,000 IU or 1.5mgs retinol. The RDA may also be expressed as Retinol Equivalents (RE), which reflects the fact that the vitamin in its natural state occurs in conjunction with other carotenoids, such as beta carotene. The RDA then is given as 1,000 ug RE. Almost all multivitamin dietary supplements contain synthetic or highly purified vitamin A in ester form and provide no beta carotene or other carotenoids.

In its natural environment (principally carrots and fish liver oils) retinol is conjugated with proteins, essential fatty acids, and associated with carbohydrates. Most of these materials are removed when the vitamin is solvent extracted or cold pressed into oil. Upon molecular distillation and further purification, all traces of the co-existing sub-stances, such as related carotenoids, are eliminated. Obviously, the synthetic material is completely devoid of these natural materials.

In contrast, Vitazyme® A-Plus is a conjugate in which the vitamin is complexed with low-molecular-weight plant proteins or polypeptides and is associated with naturally occurring carotenoids (mainly beta carotene), lipoproteins, essential fatty acids, and carbohydrates. Due to this unique association, the vitamin becomes water-dispersable, similar to the form in which it occurs in carrot juice.

The solubility and protein complexation are of prime importance for the utilization of the vitamin: absorption is greatly increased, infiltration into the dermal structures is facilitated, and toxicity or irritation potential is almost completely eliminated.