Cantron® is the World's Most Effective Antioxidant Compound

Independent laboratory tests demonstrate that Cantron® has superior efficacy in regard to scavenging all health damaging species of free radicals including:

The results of recent studies conducted by Brunswick Laboratories – the world’s leading testing facility of antioxidants - demonstrate that Cantron® is the planet’s most potent free radical scavenger. This is great news for those who wish to prevent or reverse serious health conditions. It is head and shoulders above all other antioxidants in its ability to scavenge a wide range of the dangerous “Reactive Oxygen Species” of free radicals that are responsible for multitudes of diseases in mankind. It is, in fact, 522 times more effective than the vitamin E test standard on peroxyl radicals, 417 times more effective than the vitamin C standard and 282 times more effective than orange juice. On hydroxyl radicals it is 52 times more effective than the Caffeic acid test standard, and 68 times more effective than green tea. It is 33 times more effective than the peroxynitrite radical standard. Its powerful scores against superoxide anions cannot be compared due to the nature of the test.

--------------------------------------------------------------

HORAC VALUES OF VARIOUS LIQUIDS

ORAC is the measure of Peroxyl Scavenging and scores are expressed as moles TE/L. The Peroxyl Radical is the most abundant free radical. Cantron ASV has the highest score followed by the original Cantron version.

Other disease states of which free radicals are responsible for are Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, lupus, atherosclerosis, strokes, rheumatoid arthritis, age-related hearing loss, liver disease, age associated neurological disorders, retinopathy, macular degeneration, TMJ symptoms, cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, ALS, sepsis, Huntington’s disease, loss of skin elasticity (breakdown of collagen), and the list is still growing as ongoing research continues.

There are more than 300 theories to explain the aging phenomenon. Among all theories, the free radical theory of aging, postulated first by Dr. Denham Harman at the University Of Nebraska, is the most popular and widely tested. Aging is thought to occur as a result of constant exposure to Reactive Oxygen Species of free radicals with a cumulative damage, through the entire life, along with the gradually decreasing repair capacity and increasing degenerative changes in the organs, tissues and individual cells. The body has enzymes, which can repair much of the damaged proteins, but when these enzymes become damaged themselves, repair processes are compromised.

“It is difficult these days to open any medical journal and not find some paper on the role of "Reactive Oxygen Species" or "free radicals" in human disease. The species have been implicated in over 50 diseases. This large number suggests that radicals are not something esoteric, but that they participate as a fundamental component of tissue injury in most, if not all, human diseases.” ...from the American Journal of Medicine, Sept 30, 1991 v91 n3C p12S (9); Oxidants and Antioxidants: Pathophysiologic Determinants and Therapeutic agents, Author: Halliwell, Barry.

In the most simplistic terms, the role of antioxidants is to interact with free radicals and "quench" them or render them harmless. Researchers believe that increased dietary intake of antioxidants can slow the process of free radical damage and associated disorders. By removing free radicals, antioxidants help to: protect against DNA damage in cells, protect cell membranes, protect against all forms of cancer, protect the brain against various forms of dementia, protect against the harmful cross-linking of proteins with sugars that cause cell damage and may help slow the aging process. Antioxidants have been shown to provide: blood vessel strength and protection, enhanced memory and learning function, healthy lung function, bone and joint flexibility.

According to the National Cancer Institute, “Antioxidants are substances that may protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals. Free radical damage may lead to cancer. The antioxidants interact with and stabilize free radicals and may prevent some of the damage free radicals otherwise might cause. Considerable laboratory evidence from chemical, cell culture, and animal studies indicate that antioxidants may slow or possibly prevent the development of cancer. Antioxidants are often described as "mopping up" free radicals, meaning they neutralize the electrical charge and prevent the free radical from taking electrons from other molecules."

US Federal Courts have recently instructed the FDA to allow the claim that antioxidants may prevent cancer (Whitaker vs. Thompson {2002}, Pearson vs. Shalala {1999} and Pearson vs. Shalala 2 {2001}). These landmark rulings benefit the general public, which now has access to this extremely important health information that may help millions of people reduce the risk of this dreaded disease and live longer as a result of using antioxidants in their diet.

Two principal mechanisms of action have been proposed for antioxidants, first is stabilizing free radical present in the system, and the second mechanism involves the removal of chain initiating catalysts. Furthermore, antioxidants can act by scavenging biologically important reactive oxygen species, by preventing their formation, or by repairing the damage that they do. Antioxidants can suppress apoptosis (programmed cell death), act as reducing agents, chelate metal compounds and affect directly or indirectly the expression of genes in tissues. A diet high in antioxidants may even bolster the body’s own defenses against biological invaders transmitted by germ warfare, mosquitoes or other delivery methods.

The body's arsenal of antioxidants appear to be sufficient for keeping oxidation in check in children and in youths, but once we reach our 20's, the effectiveness of the body's antioxidants defense mechanisms lessen and free radicals are given greater rein to do damage. For example, the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase, appears to diminish with age and the antioxidant capacity in human plasma decreases. While the body’s antioxidant defenses are reduced, the number of free radicals in the body rises dramatically. Studies also show that cells from old individuals are more susceptible to oxidative damage than cells from younger donors and that some of this damage can actually be prevented by antioxidants.

Researchers found that cancer patients with small cell lung cancer who used antioxidants showed increased long-term survival rates as compared with previously published studies. It was also noticed that patients receiving antioxidants were able to tolerate chemotherapy and radiation treatment well. It was concluded that antioxidant treatment could potentiate orthodox cancer treatments by decreasing the likelihood of side effects and increasing the host immune defense. Ralph Moss, PhD, author of the best selling book, “The Cancer Industry,” former assistant director of public affairs at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and producer for several documentaries, including, “The Cancer War,” stated in his newsletter of 8/17/2003; “I would argue that the preponderance of evidence already suggests that antioxidants reduce the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, without, however, interfering with their effectiveness.

As the body’s own antioxidant defenses are gradually overwhelmed by the aging process or disease or both, fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, and concentrated dietary supplements should be consumed as they contain the largest amounts of antioxidants to help replenish and augment the system.

There are many common reactive species of free radicals existing in the body. Radicals of oxygen compromise the variety of reactive molecules that can constitute oxidative stress to the cells. The reactive oxygen species include the peroxyl radical, hydroxyl radical, peroxynitrite radical and the superoxide ion.

As free radicals are all different, likewise, all antioxidants are not alike. Not only do antioxidants differ in their potency but also on what type of free radicals they work upon. For example, Vitamin C only works on water-soluble peroxyl radicals, vitamin E scavenges fat-soluble peroxyls, superoxide dismutase and catalase is only effective on superoxide radicals, etc. It is rare to find an antioxidant that can work effectively on more than one type of radical let alone all 5 forms of the harmful reactive oxygen species. To properly understand the significance of our independent study, a brief discussion of the reactive oxygen species that Cantron® was tested on is necessary.

Peroxyl radicals are the most abundant free radicals in the human body and have been suggested as a major cause of atherosclerosis, cancer, liver disease, Alzheimer’s disease, hearing loss and the aging process. There are two types: water-soluble and lipid (fat) - soluble.

Free radicals attack all major classes of bio-molecules, but lipids are the most susceptible and the easiest to damage. The peroxyl radical species is reasonably stable and not very reactive but they are reactive enough, however, to attack adjacent fatty acid side chains, as well as enzymes, receptors, and other structures found in cell membranes. The cell membrane is a rich source of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are easily attacked by oxidizing radicals including the peroxyl radical. The destruction of polyunsaturated fats causes damage by unleashing a chain reaction of chemical events that can collapse cell membranes. Once one peroxyl free radical forms and an appropriate antioxidant is not available to stop the process, the chain of events keeps occurring until the cell membrane literally collapses. As the cellular membrane becomes compromised, the cell bursts open, spews its contents and dies. This series of damaging breaks in the cellular membrane can be prevented by antioxidant defenses and the cells can remain intact. However, it has been demonstrated that total peroxyl radical scavenging antioxidant capacity (TRAP) in human plasma decreases with age.

Peroxyls are formed by several routes especially during the breakdown of organic peroxides, oxidation of lipids or other organic molecules in oxidative stress. They are formed within the delicate cellular membrane. If a free radical within or on the outside of a cell attacks the fatty acid cell membrane structures, they create peroxyl free radicals. These radicals are also formed as a byproduct of the clash between hydroxyl radicals and polyunsaturated fatty acids derived from vegetable oils.

Of all the reactive oxygen species (ROS), the hydroxyl reactive oxygen species is the most reactive. It is, in fact, the most reactive radical known to chemistry and the most physiologically harmful, being suspected in such pathologies as atherosclerosis, oncogenesis, cataractulargenesis and DNA mutation.

These dangerous radicals can attack and damage almost every molecule found in living cells because they react as soon as they come in contact with another molecule. Since it is so reactive, hydroxyl radicals generated in vivo do not persist for even a microsecond as they rapidly combine with molecules in their immediate vicinity as fast as they collide. Hydroxyl radicals can be produced at an enormous rate, have easy access to every portion of the cell, are capable of causing great damage within a small radius of their site of production and are highly carcinogenic. In addition to damaging unsaturated fats in cell membranes, hydroxyls are reactive enough, aggressive enough, and persist long enough to damage the less susceptible proteins (including the fragmentation of vital proteins in plasma), nuclear acids, enzymes and carbohydrates.

Russell Reiter, PhD, professor of neuroendocrinology at University of Texas Health Center has highlighted the dangers of the hydroxyl radical; "If the function of radicals is to destroy molecules and tissues, then the hydroxyl radical would be the radical’s radical. It reacts at diffusion rates with virtually any molecule found in its path including macromolecules such as DNA, membrane lipids, proteins and carbohydrates.  In terms of DNA, the hydroxyl radical can induce strand breaks as well as chemical changes in the dioxyribose and in the purine and pyrirnidine bases. Damaged proteins, many of them crucial enzymes in neurons lose their efficiency and cellular function wanes. Protein oxidation in many tissues, including the brain, has been proposed as an explanation for the functional deficits associating with aging."

In addition to the direct damage caused by hydroxyls, they play a major role in forming peroxyl radicals and stimulating the free radical chain reaction known as lipid peroxidation. Peroxyl radicals are formed when oxygen combines with the hydrogen radical. One hydroxyl radical can result in the conversion of many hundred fatty acids side chains into lipid hydroperoxides. As hydroxyl radicals react with carbohydrates it leads to chain breaks in important molecules in a process involving the peroxyl radical as an intermediate. Since hydroxyls do such direct damage, work in conjunction with and create harmful peroxyl radicals, then supplementation of hydroxyl scavenging antioxidants may be extremely important.

Peroxynitrite is a strong oxidant that attacks proteins, cysteines and methionines. It is an especially dangerous type of free radical consisting of both oxygen and nitrogen.  It plays a role in the development of diabetes, atherosclerosis, lung disease, chronic inflammation, neurological disorders, peripheral neuropathy- a common complication of diabetes, multiple sclerosis, erectile dysfunction, hypertension, BPH, ischemic heart disease, depression and rheumatoid arthritis. Several years ago there was a public scare about consuming foods with nitrites like bacon because they cause cancer.

Peroxynitrite is a potent oxidant formed by the rapid reaction between nitric oxide and superoxide radical.  The peroxynitrite anion is relatively stable, but they can rapidly potentate to peroxynitrous acid an unstable species, which decomposes with a half-life about one second at pH 7.4. Peroxynitrite can serve as a precursor for other potent reactive species, including nitrogen dioxide and is one of the potent reactive metabolites for the initiation of lipid peroxidation.

The Superoxide Radical can cause damage to the hereditary material (DNA) and propagate cancer cells. It is implicated in cataracts, macular degeneration, atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and joint inflammation. In the presence of superoxide anions, Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) deposited on arterial cell walls undergo peroxidation, become fibrous, then calcified, thereby, blocking blood flow. Synovial fluids in joints are oxidized by superoxide; unfortunately joint fluids lack sufficient superoxide dismutase.

Superoxide is the most important source of initiating radicals in vivo. Once you get a superoxide radical you are going to have radicals propagating damage throughout the biological system until you have a termination-that is-until that superoxide radical and all resultant radicals are quenched. Therefore in biological systems, the superoxide anion is a very important free radical. The superoxide anion is not a particularly reactive molecule and it can diffuse considerable distances from its site of production. The greatest danger from superoxide is that these radicals can be converted to more damaging radicals by a chain reaction. They combine with other reactive species such as nitric oxide to yield more reactive species such as peroxynitrite radicals and they give rise to the highly reactive hydroxyl radical species. As previously mentioned the hydroxyl is the most reactive and physiologically harmful free radical.

The body utilizes important antioxidants to deal with superoxide radicals, in particular the enzyme Superoxide Dismustase (SOD). Decreased SOD favors Superoxide anion formation. This antioxidant is so necessary that its very absence would be lethal. The problem is that SOD levels in the body decline with age and supplementation with SOD tablets is not that effective because they are poorly absorbed into the bloodstream.