Gamma Oryzanol
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What is Gamma Oryzanol made of? Is it natural? Are there any side effects for dogs or humans?
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Gamma oryzanol is an extract of rice bran oil. It has no side effects for horses, dogs or humans. The best gamma oryzanol is the Japanese produced powder. If properly dissolved in a special liquid base it really works.
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Gamma O is kind of an "old-school" supplement that was 'hot' (like Creatine is, but not quite to the same level) many many years ago. It's made (I believe) from the husks of some seed crop (oats, wheat?), but I honestly can't remember right now. Anyway, I used it about 6-7 years ago for a good 3 months and found it to be probably the LEAST effective supplement I can remember taking. No side effects (why the hell would you want to give it to your dog?!?!), but not much good either.
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They are always coming up with some new nutritional gimmick to improve human athletes. Then it isn't long before horsemen are trying it on their racehorses. In some circles, gamma oryzanol and/or ferulic acid is being used.
Chemically speaking, gamma oryzanol is a ferulic acid ester of triterpenyl
alcohols. Gamma oryzanol is actually two molecules in one. The largest
part is the triterpenyl alcohol part. This is simply another name
for sterol. Sterols are the group of compounds found throughout
nature, with many vital biological functions. Some well known sterols
are cholesterol and beta sitosterol. Many hormones such as testosterone,
estrogen and progesterone are derived from cholesterol, and can
be thought of as modified sterols. The second half of each gamma
oryzanol molecule is ferulic acid, a widespread plant compound.
How does supplementation with gamma oryzanol and/or ferulic acid in combination with weight training improve strength and increase lean muscle mass over unsupplemented subjects?
Gamma oryzanol/ferulic acid is a potent membrane antioxidant in animals and humans. The role of antioxidants in exercise physiology has only recently been explored and elucidated. Several reviews have illustrated the mechanism by which anaerobic exercise actually produces free radicals, which result in fatigue. Surprisingly, the increased flow of oxygen to fuel working muscles is not a major source for free radical damage, as normal cellular antioxidant levels seem to be adequate for the amount of free radicals produced by oxidative processes. Instead, free radicals that overwhelm cellular defenses are produced by the action of xanthine oxidase on inosine in muscle tissue.
When anaerobic exercise is performed, ATP is consumed for muscular contraction faster than it can be regenerated, resulting in a buildup of AMP. Since AMP "turns off' enzymes used by muscles to generate energy, muscle cells utilize an emergency metabolic pathway to remove excess AMP. AMP is broken down by the enzyme adenine deaminase to form ammonia and inosine monophosphate (IMP), resulting in relatively higher levels of IMP. During rest, IMP can be converted back to ATP by a long, energy demanding process; however, during anaerobic exercise, something else happens. In muscle tissue, the enzyme xanthine dehydrogenase is converted to xanthine oxidase in a classic case of enzyme "flip-flop" by ischemia (anaerobic exercise). Xanthine oxidase is the enzyme that breaks down purine nucleotides such as AMP, GMP and IMP. When xanthine oxidase and IMP levels are both raised simultaneously by anaerobic exercise, a large amount of IMP is degraded to uric acid, releasing superoxide free radicals.
It is this burst of free radicals caused by breakdown of excess inosine that is now believed to damage muscle cell membranes, releasing lactic acid into the circulation, where acidosis can result in fatigue. Damage to muscle cells from this mechanism can be observed for up to 2 weeks after exercise. The net result in humans of inosine/xanthine oxidase free radical production is muscle fatigue, loss of endurance performance and delayed muscle soreness. This feeling has been experienced by everyone who has lifted weights intensely.
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