Product Overview
Actiponin® is a revitalizing botanical supplement that encourages the body to burn fat, particularly at the waistline. Patented in the US and supported by published clinical studies, Actiponin® promotes healthy metabolism at the cellular level. In clinical trials, Actiponin® reduced body fat mass, body weight, and abdominal fat in overweight people over a 12-week period.
Almost no anti-obesity drugs have been approved for long-term use by the US Food and Drug Administration. Drugs like orlistat (i.e. Xenical) reduce the absorption of fat in the intestines by inhibiting lipase, a pancreatic enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of fats, while drugs like sibutramine (i.e. Meridia) suppress the appetite by blocking the re-uptake of certain neurotransmitters (dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin), though in 2010 Meridia was withdrawn from the markets in the United States and Canada because clinical studies revealed that it increased the risk of cardiovascular disease. Because they so often cause adverse side effects, anti-obesity drugs are generally prescribed only when the benefits of the treatment definitively outweigh the hazards. Proven to be both safe and effective, Actiponin® offers a novel—and natural—approach to weight loss.
Actiponin® is an ethanol extract of Gynostemma pentaphyllum, a five-leafed perennial that has been widely used as an herbal tea in Korea, China, and Japan for over five hundred years. Traditionally, G. pentaphyllum is used to regulate blood pressure, lower cholesterol, modulate inflammation, improve endurance, and increase longevity. Derived from G. pentaphyllum, Actiponin® is uniquely able to restore balance and equilibrium to multiple bodily systems:
- Cardiovascular system
- Digestive system
- Immune system
- Nervous system
- Reproductive system
Actiponin® activates the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an important intracellular sensor and regulator of glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, and energy metabolism throughout the body. When activated, this powerful enzyme switches on catabolic ATP-generating pathways like fatty acid β-oxidation, glycolysis, and glucose uptake—processes that normally occur during intensive exercise or prolonged starvation—and switches off anabolic ATP-consuming pathways like fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis. The activation of the AMPK pathway has numerous physiological benefits:
- Reduction of body fat mass
- Reduction of blood glucose levels
- Reduction of blood cholesterol levels
- Increase of mitochondrial biogenesis
- Increase of exercise endurance
- Increase in longevity
Studies have shown that AMPK activation improves obesity and type-2 diabetes by stimulating fatty acid β-oxidation, glycolysis, and glucose uptake while simultaneously inhibiting the synthesis of fat and cholesterol in the liver. As such, AMPK activators like Actiponin® show immense promise as healthy solutions to obesity, diabetes, and dyslipidemia, a condition that increases the chance of heart attacks and strokes.
What's Novel about Actiponin®?
Actiponin®'s patented extraction and treatment process increases the content of two novel dammarane-type glycosides—Damulin A and Damulin B—both of which are powerful AMPK activators. Actiponin® is enriched with ten times more Damulin A and Damulin B than standard extracts of G. pentaphyllum, dramatically boosting its ability to transform stored fat into energy.
Studies have shown that, in a dose-dependent manner, Damulin A and Damulin B activate AMPK, improve fatty acid β-oxidation, and increase glucose uptake, thereby lowering blood glucose levels. Conventional extracts of G. pentaphyllum take from the plant's root and rhizome, or rootstalks, through a water-extraction process that yields crude saponin powder. By contrast, Actiponin® is ethanol-extracted from the plant's leaf and extensively heat-treated, producing a proprietary powder extract. Through this patented process, Actiponin® becomes enriched with high levels of Damulin A and Damulin B, making it a powerful AMPK activator—and an emerging target for healthy solutions to obesity.
In-vitro and In-vivo Studies
In clinical studies, a heat-processed extract of G. pentaphyllum containing Damulin A and Damulin B stimulated fatty acid β-oxidation, glycolysis, and glucose uptake by activating AMPK. This extract (referred to as "actiponin" in the figures below) inhibited the formation of fat cells and increased the oxidation of fat cells. In other words, it burned fat—effectively and safely.
Rich in Damulin A and Damulin B, the proprietary extract of G. pentaphyllum activated AMPK, stimulated the uptake of glucose, and increased fatty acid β-oxidation, important steps towards treating diabetes and promoting health.
In clinical trials with pre-obese ob/ob mice, the extract of G. pentaphyllum reduced body weight gain and total cholesterol levels over the course of 8 weeks. Decreases in body weight gain were accompanied by reduced fat contents in the epididymis (the tube that connects a testicle to a vas deferens in the male reproductive system), the retroperitoneum (the space located behind the abdominal or peritoneal cavity), and the liver. As the study showed, Damulin A and Damulin B were successfully delivered to the skeletal muscle and liver, activating AMPK in these organs, stimulating fatty acid β-oxidation, and ultimately preventing or improving obesity.
Human Clinical Study Results
The human clinical study measured both the efficacy (abdominal fat distribution, anthropometric parameters, and blood lipid profiles) and the safety (adverse events, laboratory test results, electrocardiogram data, and vital signs) of the ethanol extract of G. pentaphyllum.
In a 12-week, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 74 obese participants were given either the G. pentaphyllum extract or a placebo. Each participant had a body mass index ≥ 25 kg. Males had a waist-hip ratio ≥ 0.90, and females had a waist-hip ratio ≥ 0.85.During the 12-week period, participants were asked to maintain their usual diets, refrain from consuming dietary supplements, and adhere to their normal levels of physical activity. Every four weeks, the participants were asked to report any changes in training, lifestyle, or eating patterns.
After 12 weeks, the study revealed statistically significant reductions in the following areas:
- Total abdominal fat area
- Body weight
- Body mass index (BMI)
- Body fat mass
- Percent body fat
Decreases were also found in:
- Areas of visceral fat in the abdomen
- Areas of subcutaneous fat
- Waist circumference
- Total cholesterol
- Triglycerides
- High-density lipoprotein (HDL cholesterol)
- Low-density lipoprotein (LDL cholesterol)
Blood test results and vital signs stayed within normal ranges, indicating an absence of adverse side effects.As the clinical trial shows, ethanol extracts of G. pentaphyllum like Actiponin®—enriched with AMPK activators Damulin A and Damulin B—are proven to reduce abdominal fat, body weight, body mass index, body fat, waist circumference, and cholesterol.
