Trial Finds Chromax®

Trial Finds Chromax® Non-Mutagenic

ARLINGTON,Va.Chromiumpicolinate (as Chromax®, byNutrition 21) did not cause damage in hamster ovary cells in a clinical trialpublished in Mutation Research/Genetic Toxicology andEnvironmental Mutagenesis (585, 1-2:86-95, 2005).

In a clinical trial conducted adhering to InternationalConference on Harmonisation (ICH) Guidelines, researchers suspended chromiumpicolinate (CrPic) in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in concentrations of less thanor equal to 50 mg/mL, under conditions in which precipitate was not evident andsome precipitate of CrPic was visually evident in the cell culture medium at thehighest concentrations (500 mcg/mL). Concentrations evaluated for mutagenicity ranged from 15.6mcg/mL to 500 mcg/mL (exposed to DMSO for five hours), and 31.3 to 500 mcg/mL(exposed to DMSO for 48 hours). Only a slight degree of cytotoxicity was seen inthe standard tests up to the limit of solubility in the medium. No mutagenicincreases were observed at 500 mcg/mL after 48 hours of exposure. Theresearchers concluded the results of these studies showed CrPic wasnon-mutagenic.

When Chromax was tested using internationally acceptedguidelines, there was no damage to DNA resulting in gene mutations, even atdoses higher than those used in earlier studies, said Ron Slesinski, Ph.D.,DABT, one of the researchers who conducted the study. The new findings are consistent with many previous studiesshowing chromium picolinate is safe.

Nutrition 21 also announced the results of a study on itscombination of chromium and biotin (as Diachrome®) were presented at the 2ndInternational Symposium on Triglycerides and HDL. Diachrome administered tomoderately obese Type II diabetics taking anti-diabetic medicationssignificantly reduced the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP), a predictive markerfor cardiovascular disease.