Michael L. Love: Tyrosol Lignins
I would like to share my intitial impressions regarding tyrosol and lignins. I finally got a chance to try a couple of products containing these substances, and I was able to do a little checking, including some blood pressure measurements. I am borderline prehypertensive for various reasons, many of which are harmless, but I like to keep an eye on it. It should be noted that these impressions are preliminary, empirical, and anecdotal. Lignins are a highly varied and often complex molecular species, so that it should always be inquired as to what type of lignans are being referred to. I am convinced that lignan molecules can be expected to be at the frontier of longevity medicine. It is no surprise that there is much excitement around these compounds, which have good free radical quenching capabilities, and similar structures to other polyphenolic compounds, which have been demonstrated to have enormously healthful benefits.
Tyrosol is another molecule which shares in the same interesting properties as lignans in the general sense, and in fact, many lignans are based on tyrosol. These include the lignins in flax and olive. Tyrosol has been demonstrated to have similar beneficial qualities, but it is also deserving of certain caveats, as are the tyrosol lignan class in general.
Tyrosol and tyrosol lignans are included in certain nasal and throat spray preparations, and it is not surprising that they exhibit a decongestant-like property, due to their similar structure to adenergic molecules, such as norepinephrine. In fact, tyrosol has been demonstrated to have antiarrhythmic effects, which could be beneficial for some people. This is consistent with alpha-1 adenergic activation, and explains the decongestant effect as well.
At this juncture, I would like to remind that these are preliminary findings, and people should search out the matter in the literature for themselves. My research is indicating at this time that alpha-1 activation is not beneficial from a longevity perspective, and is likely to cause harm to people with rapid heartbeat or high blood pressure. One reason for this is the resulting Akt activation, which you can look up for yourself. I try to avoid alpha-1 activation, which is a stress response. For this reason, I have until now tried to avoid decongestant medicines, which are typically alpha-1 adenergics.
Tyrosol shares its molecular properties with norepinephrin, the body's native alpha-1 receptor ligand, and as such it can be expected that there are ameliorating factors which offset the problems. Although, alpha-1 activation may lead to runaway calcium cascades, tyrosine kinase activation, and an increase in inflammatory factors, these effects which are often adverse are offset by the phenolic structure of the molecule, which may tend to scavange the resulting free radicals and produce some of the other benefits that are associated with polyphenols, like resveratrol.
My advice at this time is to use discretion and moderation when supplementing with tyrosol and tyrosol lignins. Consider the state of your health. Personally, with borderline prehypertension, I will tend to use less than some other people. For example, I will use the topical and intranasal preparations only as needed. I have the flax oil with lignan fraction preparation from NSI, and I think that it could be beneficial, but due to these concerns, I will limit myself to an occasional 1/2 teaspoon. I like it in my yogurt fruit smoothie, and it tastes better than olive oil in the juice. Much more could obviously be said about olive oils. Anyway, for people with low blood pressure and/or adverse congestion and swelling in the nasal epithelium, the effects may be more beneficial.
Adenergics are frequently a part of body building regimens, and I would advice caution. There are beta-adenergic agonists, which are probably more on target and effective than the alpha-1 agonists. Moreover, they can be expected to be more heathful in the general sense as well.
I am afraid that I am always eager to try the hottest new supplement, in order to expand my longevity program, and as a result, I do not always proceed with scientific rigor. I find myself backpedalling from time to time, which is why I put the caveats on this piece. I must confess that the observed effects could be due to a change in my vitamin E regimen, but I find that unlikely.
For the future, I think that tannins are in a similar preliminary state as lignins. There are huge potential benefits, but an equal degree of concerns. I hope that this information helps someone, and I will post updates as I learn more.
Incidentally, for those concerned about high blood pressure, you might want to have a look at forskolin. It is available in herbal extract form from NSI. I recommend a strict regimen when using forskolin, in order to avoid the rollercoaster effect. It would probably be wise to consult with a healthcare professional about it. I will probably have more to say about this later, as it is related to this story above.
Finally, I would like to boost another new idea. I think that phenolics which are not alpha-1 adenergic would be a better addition to an intranasal spray. It would not give users that familiar punch, but it would be more benefical in the long run. There are many naturally occuring flavonoids, which are known to have beneficial antimicrobal activity, and it should not be difficult to find the best one, perhaps among the citrus variety. In a suspension with a little citric acid to lower the pH and aid absorption, it could be quite beneficial and effective, without the alpha-1 body load... BTW, for the throat spray too.
Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/
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on Google BuzzPublished Friday, January 01, 2010 07:06 PM by proclus
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Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/
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