Stearoyl vanillylamide is a naturally-occurring capsaicin analogue found in various pepper species.  Capsaicin is responsible for the hot/burning feeling caused by chili peppers. Although stearoyl vanillylamide is a TRPV1 activator of comparable potency to capsaicin, stearoyl vanillylamide is nonpungent, meaning it does not impart the “spicy” or irritative effects of capsaicin — in other words, it does not irritate the stomach, skin, eyes or mouth.  (This is because the TRPV1 activation kinetics of stearoyl vanillylamide, and other non-pungent capsaicin analogs like olvanil and arvanil, are slower and evoke a qualitatively different calcium-flux response.)

TRPV1 activators have been thoroughly studied for their metabolism-enhancing and fat-burning effects:

– TRPV1 activation stimulates the release of catecholamines such as adrenaline and noradrenaline from the adrenal medulla, and noradrenaline is a major regulator of lipolysis via β-adrenoreceptor activation.

– Nonpungent capsaicin analogs have been demonstrated to increase energy expenditure in a human clinical trial.  In a separate trial, stearoyl vanillylamide in particular increased lipolysis and oxidation of free fatty acids in rats, resulting in increased capacity for exercise.

– A systematic review of human clinical trials observed that regular consumption of capsaicinoids increased energy expenditure, and significantly reduced abdominal adipose tissue levels.

Capsaicin, as mentioned previously, is famous as the substance which imparts a “spicy” flavor to hot peppers.  Although its effects are nearly identical to those of stearoyl vanillylamide, they’re not exactly identical.  Both compounds induce adrenaline secretion — but animal experiments indicate that capsaicin does so very quickly, with peak adrenalin levels seen 30 minutes after dosing, whereas stearoyl vanillylamide induces an effect of equal magnitude, but one in which adrenalin doesn’t hit peak levels until 120 minutes after dosing.  The difference, therefore, is one of kinetics.  By combining stearoyl vanillylamide with a lower dose of capsaicin, adrenalin secretion is induced in a stable and consistent manner, which leads to faster fat-loss.

Zingerone, also called vanillylacetone and 0-paradol, is the dominant pungent substance in ginger.  Due to its prevalence in the modern diet and in various traditional forms of medicine, it has been thoroughly researched — and this research has shown zingerone to be effective as a mild TRPV1 agonist, as a moderately potent PPAR-alpha agonist, and as a very effective potentiator of the effects of norepinephrine.  The latter property is especially noteworthy here: As capsaicin and stearoyl vanillylamide both increase norepinephrine secretion and plasma levels, and as zingerone increases by as much as eight-fold the amount of fat burned in response to norepinephrine in fat cells, the combination is an extremely potent one.  The bottom line: Zingerone strongly augments the fat-burning potential of stearoyl vanillylamide and capsaicin, and, additionally, may induce fat-loss via PPAR-alpha mediated mechanisms.

No cost was spared to ensure an optimal dose of each ingredient for maximum effect.  When used together as Thermo-VT, these three substances turbocharge effective pathways for bodyfat reduction.

Structure of berberine

Berberine’s varied positive effects on many metabolic outcomes make it particularly of interest in treating the modern obesity-related condition known as “metabolic disorder”. Unfortunately, bioavailability for this compound is low – estimated at less than 5% of the orally-administered dose – the compound itself being poorly soluble, and the gram-plus doses necessary for a physiologically-relevant effect cause major gastrointestinal side-effects.

Super-Berberine^TM
Super-Berberine^TM solves these problems in two ways.

Firstly, in Super-Berberine^TMthe berberine is complexed with cyclodextrins.
Cyclodextrins are sugar molecules bound into a ring- or doughnut-shape, which can be used to increase the solubility of other compounds by the formation of inclusion complexes. The insoluble compound is held in the hydrophobic cavity, and the cyclodextrin acts as a “carrier” molecule.

Berberin-cyclodextrin complexes are not only more soluble, and therefore more bioavailable, than plain berberine, but also sweeter and less bitter due to the natural sugary taste of cyclodextrins and because complexed molecules cannot fully interact with taste buds.

Dissolution profiles of berberine and berberine-beta-cyclodextrin inclusion complex (a) in simulated gastric fluid and (b) in simulated intestinal juice.

The improvements in solubility seen in the graphs above may be improved further by use of 2 hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) instead of the less-soluble β-cyclodextrin.

Secondly, in Super-Berberine^TMthe berberine-cyclodextrins are co-administered with the penetration-enhancer sodium caprate.

Structure of sodium caprate

Sodium caprate is an absorption promoter, increasing the oral bioavailability of poorly permeable compounds across the gut wall. Many bioavailability enhancers work by increasing cellular permeability, allowing greater transcellular movement (through the epithelial cells) by diffusion or active transport.
Sodium caprate dilates tight junctions (TJs) in the intestinal epithelium, increasing their permeability, facilitating paracellular transport (between the cells). Sodium caprate also inhibits the excretion pump function of P-glycoprotein, of which berberine is a substrate.
As a sodium salt of a medium chain fatty acid, sodium caprate is Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) as a food additive.

When sodium caprate is co-administered with berberine, intestinal absorption of berberine increases significantly, leading to bioavailability improvements of 1.5 to 2.3-fold.

• In in vitro experiments, berberine has a stronger effect on the phosphorylation of AMPK than AICAR.
• Berberine reduces bodyweight in test animals fed a high-fat diet, as well as improving triglycerides, total cholesterol, and glucose tolerance.
• Berberine induces an increase in muscle glucose uptake via AMPK, and inhibits glucose production in the liver.

Combining cyclodextrin-complexed berberine with sodium caprate results in a berberine product of never-before-seen potency: Super-Berberine^TM.

References and further reading:

Aungst BJ. Absorption Enhancers: Applications and Advances. AAPS J. 2011 Nov 22;14(1):10–8.

Chen Y, Wang Y, Zhang J, Sun C, Lopez A. Berberine improves glucose homeostasis in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats in association with multiple factors of insulin resistance. ISRN Endocrinol. 2011;2011:519371.

Zhang Y, Cui Y-L, Gao L-N, Jiang H-L. Effects of β-cyclodextrin on the intestinal absorption of berberine hydrochloride, a P-glycoprotein substrate. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 2013 Aug;59:363–71.

Lv X-Y, Li J, Zhang M, Wang C-M, Fan Z, Wang C-Y, et al. Enhancement of sodium caprate on intestine absorption and antidiabetic action of berberine. AAPS PharmSciTech. 2010 Mar;11(1):372–82.

Maher S, Leonard TW, Jacobsen J, Brayden DJ. Safety and efficacy of sodium caprate in promoting oral drug absorption: from in vitro to the clinic. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2009 Dec 17;61(15):1427–49.

Krug SM, Amasheh M, Dittmann I, Christoffel I, Fromm M, Amasheh S. Sodium caprate as an enhancer of macromolecule permeation across tricellular tight junctions of intestinal cells. Biomaterials. 2013 Jan;34(1):275–82.

Zhang M, Lv X, Li J, Meng Z, Wang Q, Chang W, et al. Sodium caprate augments the hypoglycemic effect of berberine via AMPK in inhibiting hepatic gluconeogenesis. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2012 Nov 5;363(1-2):122–30.