Leslie's Corner: Food-Derived vs. Synthetic Spermidine and Dosage

Food-Derived vs Synthetic Spermidine & Dosage | Oxford Healthspan

Over the past few weeks I have received a number of DM’s and messages asking why synthetic spermidine is so cheap and by contrast, the concentrated, de-fatted wheat germ derived spermidine we use in our Primeadine® supplement is more expensive. 

This is such an important question! Now let's get into it...

First of all, synthetic spermidine has only been tested in mice, not in humans or even primates. Food-derived spermidine however, has been in the human food supply for millennia and has a very good safety profile as a result. 

While synthetic spermidine mimics the chemical structure of spermidine found in food, it does not come with the other polyamines that normally accompany spermidine in nature, such as spermine and putrescine. The presence of these naturally occurring polyamines create a virtuous recycling loop within your body (and yes, I am sorry about those names too - what were they thinking?). This recycling loop allows the body to produce more spermidine, not just the amount that we give you in the daily dose itself. 

In addition, we add an indigestible fiber, a prebiotic resistant starch, that selectively feeds the beneficial bacteria strains in your own gut biome that produce spermidine for you.

Now, let’s move on to dosing. While the US FDA has no Recommended Daily Allowance or maximum daily dose, the European Union’s European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has set an upper limit of 6mg of supplemental food-derived spermidine per day. Adding to the confusion, well known longevity personality, David Sinclair, claimed on two podcasts that he takes 1 gram of spermidine daily (this has since been retracted). Please note that a dose that high would lead to an overdose that would likely kill healthy cells.

Human clinical trials have never gone past a daily dose of 6mg, with only one trial using this amount which is currently still in process.

To date, most studies have been conducted using a daily dose of 1mg of spermidine, together with spermine and putrescine. 

While I know that many people believe that "if something is good, taking more of it is better", sticking to what we know are the safe daily dosages is prudent.

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