Studies

ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY AND CELLULAR PROTECTION BY THE WEST AFRICAN SORGHUM-BASED PRODUCT – Jobelyn®

Jobelyn® is produced from a unique variety of Sorghum bicolor, recently domesticated from a West African wild variety, representing genetic makeup not a result of intense breeding efforts.

Health benefits include:

• Strong antioxidant support helps prevent oxidation of red blood cells
• Can bring relief for stressed circulatory systems
• Helps improve joint health by inhibiting release of pro-inflammatory properties
• Immune activating components for the body to help combat colds & flu

Though essential for life, oxygen is used in chemical reactions in our body to produce free radicals, which are harmful, electrically charged ions. Antioxidants are compounds capable of neutralizing free radicals that would otherwise potentially damage cells and tissues. Antioxidants help to prevent damage to cells and tissue, and provide multi-faceted health benefits. 

Jobelyn® has an unusual chemical profile compared to other variants of Sorghum bicolor. It has a very high content of unique antioxidant polyphenols, including unique dimeric 3-deoxy-anthocyanidins. These compounds contribute to the chemical and biological antioxidant effects. 

There are different methods to test for antioxidants. Each method provides different information. For this reason, a sequential testing strategy was used.

Jobelyn® used the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) test – a widely used antioxidant test measuring chemical antioxidant capacity. While the ORAC test helps demonstrate whether a product contains chemicals that are able to perform antioxidant reactions, it does not tell us if compounds are functioning as protective antioxidants in biological systems. Because of this limitation of the ORAC test, the Cellular Antioxidant Protection in erythrocytes (CAP-e) test was also used to test Jobelyn®. The CAP-e test directly measures antioxidant uptake and protection at the cellular level.

Jobelyn® showed cellular antioxidant protection capacity in the CAP-e test. The cellular protection seen in the CAP-e test allows us to conclude that Jobelyn® contains antioxidants that are bioavailable and functional at the cellular level. Protection was seen both in the water extract and in the ethanol extract. This suggests a complex range of biologically active antioxidants in Jobelyn® 

Free radical:
An atom or group of atoms with at least one unpaired electron. Unpaired electrons are highly reactive and can damage living cells.

Antioxidant:
A compound capable of donating an electron and thus neutralizing the electrical charge that may otherwise lead to cascading cellular damage.