Vitexin Powder

What’s Vitexin?

Vitexin powder is a natural apigenin flavonoid glycoside that comes from apigenin. It is also a C-glycosyl compound and trihydroxyflavone. It is used to inhibit platelet aggregation and anti-tumor.

Vitexin Sources

At present, we have analyzed the existence of Vitexin in some natural plants, such as passionflower, Hawthorn, bamboo leaf, and pearl millet.

Hawthorn, in particular, is also sought after as a food in China. Hawthorn is regarded as a food beneficial to the body by traditional Chinese medicine. At the same time, it is also used in traditional Chinese medicine. Vitexin, a critical component of Hawthorn, has been used in China for many years through modern scientific analysis.

Vitexin Bioavailability

Vitexin has a common absorption effect in the gastrointestinal tract with its biological activity. It is rapidly removed from the blood, and its absolute oral bioavailability is general. The first step of Vitexin entering the body is deglycosylation and finally converted to 3 – (4-hydroxyphenyl) propionic acid. Therefore, the first pass effect of Vitexin mainly occurred in the intestine, followed by a minor stomach (30%) and liver (5%). To improve the bioavailability of Vitexin, some brands have made many attempts and breakthroughs on this basis. Measures are taken, such as common Vitexin micronized powders, particles, and Water-soluble powder compounded with β-cyclodextrin.

Vitexin and Isovitexin

Vitexin and isovitexin are mono-c-glycosyl flavonoids found in various natural plant sources, and they all have similar molecular weights, both of which are 432.381 g/mol. At first, we collectively referred to them as Vitexin, but with natural product chemical technology progress, people began to separate isomer and its analogs, including isovitexin. Many reports reviewed outline that Vitexin and isovitexin play similar roles in the human body. For example, a study on  Vitexin and isovitexin isolated from Ficus Deltoidea leaves found that they inhibited α-glucosidase in vivo. When the two exist simultaneously, they have a good synergistic effect.

However, there are also slight differences between them:

Vitexin and Rutin

The active components of Hawthorn are mainly considered to be flavonoids, Vitexin, and rutin, which have long been regarded as heart tonics in Europe and Southeast Asia. Although no comprehensive comparison of Vitexin and rutin have been made, they all appear to have similar effects, such as improving immunity lowering blood sugar levels and blood pressure. In addition, it is anti-inflammatory, anti-virus, and prevents cardiovascular diseases, among other things. Moreover, as two recognized ingredients are active in the market, they are safe to take.

How does Vitexin work?

Vitexin has significant pharmacological effects; however, in the upper digestive tract, the absorption of C – glucoside Vitexin is relatively low (about 5%) and has excellent resistance to molecular transformation. Therefore, this essential metabolic transformation of flavonoid glycosides occurs in the colon, and the intestinal flora plays a vital role in degrading it.

In the fermentation process of human fecal samples, Vitexin may be degraded by forming an aglycone structure, in which the glucose part is mainly cleaved by bacteria. The aglycone structure is further degraded to small phenolic acids, including 3 – (4-hydroxyphenyl) propionic acid, phenylacetic acid, and 3-phenyl propionic acid.

Vitexin Manufacturing Process

Vitexin is a trihydroxyflavone, which we mentioned in the above “source” introduction. It is produced in bamboo leaves, pearl millet, passion fruit, and Hawthorn. At present, Hawthorn is the most used raw material in the market because Hawthorn has the highest content of Vitexin, high extraction rate, and high commercial value. However, no matter which source of raw materials, their final practical component is Vitexin, but the cost of Vitexin from different sources will be different. In addition, a small number of people are currently exploring the production of Vitexin from the perspective of biosynthesis. Still, it has not yet developed into a commercial process.

The process of extracting from natural plants is also straightforward. Usually, Hawthorn is fully extracted in the extraction tank with water or ethanol as the extraction solvent, then the extract is spray-dried, and finally, the packaging is tested.

Vitexin Benefits

Vitexin is a kind of apigenin flavonoid glycoside existing in food and natural plants. It has various pharmacological and analgesic effects, such as anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, etc.

Vitexin as antioxidant

Vitexin has been shown to provide electrons and act as an excellent free radical scavenger. In addition, it has better antioxidant activity than apigenin. The C-8 glucoside in Vitexin leads to decreased bond dissociation enthalpy compared with apigenin. At 40 mg/kg, Vitexin improves total antioxidant capacity, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase activities in serum.

Vitexin can be effectively used to prevent skin adverse reactions caused by ultraviolet rays, such as free radical production and skin cell damage. In addition, as an antioxidant, Vitexin has all protective effects on reactive oxygen species, lipid peroxidation, and other oxidative damage in various oxidative stress-related diseases.

Support brain health

Because studies have demonstrated that scopolamine can enhance brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and brain oxidative stress, vitexin improved memory recovery in rats’ scopolamine model of memory impairment. However, Vitexin showed significant cholinesterase inhibition on acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase activities.

Some studies in Brazil have confirmed the unique ability of Vitexin to prevent the cytotoxicity caused by Alzheimer’s disease. For example, in a study published in the Journal of food and chemical toxicology in 2015, scientists found that flavonoids (such as Vitexin) can protect brain PC12 cells from Aβ Peptide attacks. Aβ Peptide is one of the leading causes of neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Neuronal diseases, including cerebral infarction, motor retardation, depression, and memory loss, are closely related to the loss of neurons, the decline of anti-stress ability, and inflammatory response. Vitexin can enhance the viability of neurons by up-regulating the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax and down-regulating caspases. Vitexin can alleviate these neuronal obstacles and improve learning behavior by promoting neuronal survival, reducing ROS levels, and reducing the release of pro-inflammatory factors.

Anti-inflammatory

In recent years, the anti-inflammatory activity of Vitexin has attracted more and more attention in vitro and in vivo. At the cell culture level, Vitexin has been proved to improve the inflammatory response induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the injury of macrophages by reducing the release of insulin-secreting cells and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and down-regulating the release of inflammatory factors and enzymes.

It was found that Vitexin alleviated allergy by inhibiting calcium current activated by calcium release and b-hexosamine enzyme, indicating the importance of Ca2 + transformation as a target to improve inflammation. Vitexin can also inhibit the pain-related inflammatory response caused by acetic acid. In addition, Vitexin can prevent glutathione depletion, iron reduction potential, and free radical scavenging ability and limit the production of neuropathic pain factors such as TNF-IL-1, IL-6, and IL-33, and up-regulate the amount of anti-hyperalgesia cytokine IL-10. The following figure also shows the role of Vitexin in peripheral cytokine activity in the peripheral system.

Liver health

In a study organized by Indian scholars, Vitexin on DSS induced TLR4 / NF-kB signaling pathway now has positive inhibitory activity, which can be recognized as an excellent protective effect of Vitexin on liver injury caused by colitis.

The mechanism of action is as follows: Vitexin reduces the levels of ALT and TC in the liver and reduces TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1βrelease of pro-inflammatory cytokines induced by glycan sodium sulfate (DSS).

Sleep disorders can lead to neurodegeneration. It is reported that Vitexin can improve neurogenesis and memory and alleviate sleep disorders. In addition, scientists suggested that it had a positive effect on covid.

Vitexin Safety

The data on the toxicity and safety of Vitexin and its derivatives are large and growing. The toxicity of Vitexin and its derivatives has been proved to be safe and non-toxic through in vitro studies and in vivo experiments of animal models. The neurotoxic effects tests revealed that Vitexin only caused a few mutation sites and had no carcinogenic and mutagenic action in vitro.

Vitexin Side Effects

Although Vitexin, a flavonoid compound, has been trying to obtain official recognition, neither the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nor the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) has approved any health declaration of flavonoids or approved any drugs. However, vitexin has been added and used in the supplement market for decades. As a result, many consumers have recognized vitexin’s safety based on many academic studies. In addition, no reports and studies on side effects have been found.

Vitexin Dosage

At present, whether in supplements or drugs, there are no official regulations and restrictions on the dose of Vitexin. But from the existing capsule products on the market, the recommended dose is 50mg-150mg per day.

Up to now, there is no application and approval record for the application patent of Vitexin, which means that its formula addition and use are not limited by any patent under the permission of domestic laws and regulations.

Vitexin Specifications

• Hawthorn Leaf Extract 10:1 powder
• Hawthorn Leaf Extract 20:1 powder
• Vitexin powder 1.8%~2%(HPLC)
• Vitexin powder 3.5%~5%(HPLC)
• Vitexin powder10%~30%(HPLC)
• Vitexin powder 98%(HPLC)