The drug discovery challenges presented by herbal products
The special features that natural products present compared to conventional synthetic molecules, has brought both advantages and disadvantages to the process of drug discovery.
Since ancient times, secondary plant metabolites – as plant-based diets such as the Mediterranean diet have a high proportion of – have been used therapeutically. It should not be a great surprise, then, that their molecular structures have provided the basis for many modern pharmaceuticals.
More than 3,500 years ago, for example, bark from the willow tree was used for pain relief and as an antipyretic. Fast-forward to the early 19th century, and willow bark’s active agent – the secondary plant metabolite, Salicin – was discovered. It was this agent that would go on to provide the basis for the discovery of aspirin, which is now the world’s most commonly used drug.
For another example of how plant compounds have historically been precursors of many modern drugs, one might look to Metformin. This is a biguanide that has become the most frequently prescribed glucose-lowering (antidiabetic) medicine globally. It has its origins, however, in natural compounds found in the plant Galega Officinalis (French lilac or goat’s rue), a traditional herbal medicine used in Europe.
There is, though, a recurrent problem with most secondary plant metabolites: their poor level of natural bioavailability. This, combined with the high prevalence in the West of diets that are the very opposite of the Mediterranean diet – being high in processed foods and animal products, but low in plant-based nutrients – means there are often insufficient levels of these compounds in the blood circulation.
It seems clear, then, that additional supplementary nutrients could help ensure sufficient levels of nutrients that a given person might not otherwise have enough of in their diet. But that still leaves the question of how to solve poor bioavailability.
How does SoluSmart® change the game?
Into this finely balanced equation, comes our own unique activation technology, SoluSmart®. It is a ground-breaking technology that helps to overcome the classic problem encountered with most conventional supplements of today, whereby the ingredients might have real nutritional value, but they are not absorbed by the gut to the extent that they could and should be.
You may have been asked questions like, “what are the best natural supplements for joint health?” and “what are the most effective natural ways to boost energy?”
Unlocking greater bioavailability and efficacy from otherwise potentially highly effective natural products, has been a puzzle bedevilling medicine practitioners for generations. That may no longer be such a headache for practitioners and consumers alike, when products utilising SoluSmart® are available.
What is SoluSmart®?
SoluSmart® is a patent-protected proprietary technology that has been designed from conception to bring instant real-world benefits to the lifestyles and wellbeing of its users. As it is based on solubilizing ingredients, it helps ensure the long-term stability of ingredients, without any preservatives or cooling being needed. So, there’s no requirement for users of our natural antioxidant supplements to even keep them in the fridge, in order to preserve their efficacy.
Instead, it’s as simple a case as the user adding water to the drink and shaking it. This process alone results in the instant creation of millions of multilaminar vesicles – tiny taxis – that allow for the supplement’s goodness to be quickly carried to the user’s cells.
What is the impact of SoluSmart®?
The grand outcome is as much as 20 times higher gut absorption and bioavailability, compared to a standard supplement. The exact extent to which SoluSmart® multiplies bioavailability will depend on the specific compound. But even if the solute mix is ‘merely’ five times more effective in this regard for a particular condition than the bulky capsules to which the user is accustomed, this can still equate to a remarkable difference to their all-round health.
The more bioavailable the natural substances are that make up a given supplement drink, the stronger the ‘hit’ can be of the super-pure ingredients, and the more effectively and quickly they can make their way into the user’s system.
So, when you are next asked which is the best natural turmeric supplement, or what natural remedies for arthritis are available, you can have confidence recommending any product based on the potent and revolutionary SoluSmart® technology.