The US FDA has not ruled on a safe upper limit for food-derived spermidine, but the European Union's European Food Safety Authority has deemed 6mg of supplemental food-derived spermidine to be the safe upper limit.

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

Synthetic spermidine has not been tested for safety in humans. 

We take great care to use the highest quality ingredients and to keep out the 'nasties' commonly used in the supplement manufacturing process in our products. We take the same approach that we do when baking a birthday cake for our children: we use the highest quality ingredients - no industrial seed oils such as wheat germ oil that oxidizes rapidly, no magnesium stearate to make the powder flow faster through automated encapsulation equipment (approximately 70% of all magnesium stearate used as 'flow agents' are hydrogenated industrial seed oils), no talc to make the powder denser to fit more compactly into fewer capsules. 

We also do not use synthetic spermidine which is very cheap and often 'cut' into products stating 'wheat germ with spermidine.'  

We choose food-derived spermidine. Yes, it is more costly, just as the best cake ingredients for your child's birthday cake would be too. It's a choice and philosophy about value for money. 

While we can’t speak directly about the formulation of other spermidine products, here are some of the main differentiators of Primeadine®/Oxford Healthspan.

• We source our raw materials from Japan, which is known for their Nobel Prize winning scientific leadership on autophagy. They have the most advanced extraction process and are known worldwide for their rigorous quality control and testing, and they meet the standards of the Japan Health Food and Nutrition Food Association. In Japan, our raw materials are manufactured in an FDA-registered and -inspected facility with ISO22000 standards, the highest in food quality control. Our raw materials are tested for heavy metals, mold, fungi and bacteria at the Japan Food Research Lab (JFRL), a third party independent testing lab. Every single batch must be tested here as food-derived spermidine will have varying quantities of spermidine per batch and we must ensure that every batch contains the minimum effective dose of 1mg stated on our labels. In addition, our spermidine is encapsulated in an FDA cGMP facility in the USA and undergoes purity testing there as well at Eurofins or Delta.
• Our capsules do not have any synthetic ingredients, whereas other supplements contain magnesium stearate (of which circa 80% will contain hydrogenated fats; the supplement industry is not legally required to get rid of hydrogenated oils the way the processed food industry has been mandated by law to), shellac, talc and glycerin. Our products are all suitable for vegans.
• Our formulation contains a special type of FructoOligoSaccharide (FOS) that acts as a prebiotic fiber and resistant starch that will selectively feed the friendly bacteria in the gut biome, that can produce spermidine for you. The idea is to increase both supplemental or 'exogenous' spermidine as well as your own body's natural ability to produce 'endogenous' spermidine, just like it can produce neurotransmitters and some vitamins.
• We do not use liposomes with our product because this is unnecessary for absorption and also would prevent the benefits that happen when spermidine is exposed directly to the gut lining. There is no evidence that spermidine cannot be taken up by the cells on its own. Similar to amino acids, polyamines do not need a liposome to cross into the cell or to be taken up with epithelial cells. The process of creating a liposomal version also creates unnecessary expense.
• We do not synthetically enrich our product with synthetic spermidine.
• We do not use doses beyond what the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has mandated as safe for human consumption, which is 6mg daily. Please note that this is related to food-derived spermidine. Synthetic spermidine and synthetically enriched spermidine has never been tested in humans for safety or efficacy and is being sold without regulatory oversight. 
• We work closely with our scientific advisers at the University of Oxford, all of whom take our product and share it with their families. We are also the only non-Japanese member of the Japan Autophagy Consortium, whose Senior Adviser is the 2016 Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine or Physiology, Prof Yoshimori Ohsumi, and who Director is Prof Tamotsu Yoshimori, Osaka University, who conducted all of the mammalian research in autophagy that helped underpin Prof Ohsumi's work in yeast cells. 

One of the many benefits of spermidine is that it can reduce inflammation in the gut and also seal up the tight junctions of the gut lining, which is only 1 cell thick. But it must pass through the gastrointestinal tract to exert this benefit, repairing as it travels through the gut.

After this, multiple studies have demonstrated that it easily crosses the intestinal lumen into the bloodstream. As it is of similar molecular size to amino acids (it is a 'polyamine' so that should give you a hint), it can easily cross into the cells themselves without needing a liposomal escort.

Liposomal delivery is unnecessary and simply adds to manufacturing cost. But another reason to avoid liposomal spermidine is that it uses the synthetic form of spermidine, which has never been tested for safety or efficacy in humans. Read more about this in our FAQ on "Why is food-derived Primeadine® spermidine better than synthetic spermidine?".

Primeadine® spermidine is wholly food-derived spermidine and not synthetic spermidine because synthetic spermidine has never been tested for safety or efficacy in humans. We are not lab rats and even in larger mammals, there are significant differences in metabolism - think of how your dog is able to produce its own vitamin C, but you are not. Conversely, how humans can metabolize chocolate but this is toxic in animals. This is why human studies are necessary. 

In addition, food-derived spermidine comes with valuable co-enzymes and co-factors that support its efficacy in the body. Notable are the polyamines, spermine, necessary for proper DNA methylation, and putrescine, a precursor to both spermidine and spermine. All three of these polyamines are part of a virtuous recycling loop that provides the body with all the building blocks it needs to flexibly make more spermidine or spermine depending on need. Both spermidine and spermine together have been shown to improve hormonal balance in men and women as well as lower cortisol. 

Primeadine® Original has all three polyamines and Primeadine® GF has spermidine and putrescine, which can be made into the third polyamine, spermine. Primeadine GF also contains two other autophagy activators, nobiliten and curcumin; spermidine, nobiliten and turmeric are all anti-inflammatories.

When you see spermidine coming from wheat germ in high quantities and at cheap prices, usually with the description 'wheat germ with spermidine,' this almost always means that the wheat germ, buckwheat or other grain or seed has been 'sprouted' or soaked in water with synthetic spermidine poured in. The result is that the grains or seeds soak up the spermidine and when these grains or seeds are dehydrated, the synthetic spermidine remains and increases the overall spermidine content in the raw material. What this means is that you have a product with a very small amount of spermidine, spermine and putrescine in the ratios in which they normally occur in nature, and exceedingly high quantities of spermidine itself. Because such a large amount of the product is in fact synthetic, which costs pennies, you do not have the virtuous recycling loop when spermidine, spermine and, at the very least, the precursor polyamine, putrescine are present. 

The process above is akin to the elementary school science project where you take white carnations, stand them in water with blue food dye and watch them 'become blue'. Or similar to processed foods that might previously have contained honey for sweetening being 'cut' with high fructose corn syrup to increase the sweetness cheaply.

Best effects are typically seen after 2 months.

Primeadine® works at a cellular level, so you won't feel any "fireworks" the first time you take it. That said, some of our customers have reported deeper sleep, as measured by the ōura ring, when taken at night. See our Testimonials section for more!

Synthetic spermidine is a 2-dimensional chemical mimic, but we should never forget that molecules are 3-dimensional. Humans have co-evolved with plants over millenia and our bodies recognize the 3-dimensional molecules made by plants. Our bodies can recognize some elements of 2-dimensional mimics, but they are akin to the mirror images of your hands when you put your palms together - 2-dimensionally identical, and yet your right hand cannot wear a left-handed glove. 

We have tested other spermidine products whose labels state they contain 'wheat germ with spermidine' and noticed that they have a small amount of wheat germ 'cut in' with high amounts of synthetic spermidine. Often, these are high dose, low cost options. 

Synthetic spermidine has not been tested for safety in humans. 

Spermidine is a potent polyamine, known for inducing autophagy, which is the body's cellular renewal and recycling process that slows as we age.

Supplementation with spermidine in humans has been shown to support cognition and heart health, promote hormonal balance, improve hair growth and fullness (including eyelashes) and strengthen nails.

Epidemiological studies have correlated higher spermidine levels with longer life.

The gut biome and our tissues produce 2/3 of our body's spermidine. This is known as 'endogenous production'. The final third comes 'exogenously' or externally from our diet.

As we age, spermidine production in our tissues and gut biome begins to fall, reducing autophagy, and therefore cell renewal.

Spermidine is a polyamine, an organic compound consisting of two or more amino groups, which is positively charged at physiological pH. Spermidine is present in all human tissues.

There are three sources of spermidine: endogenous spermidine made from the precursor amino acid ornithine;microbial spermidine, produced from gut microbes, anddietary spermidine, naturally occurring in food.

Endogenous production of spermidine accounts for roughly 1/3 of the body’s spermidine, however the ability to produce spermidine endogenously decreases with age. While microbial and dietary intakes make up 2/3 of the body’s needs, dietary intakes vary greatly between countries, with spermidine intake being higher on the Mediterranean and Japanese diets than on the typical American or Western European diet.

With respect to food sources, spermidine is found in the greatest amounts in concentrated wheat germ and the Japanese fermented soybean dish known as natto. It is also found in the endosperm of all seeds and legumes, so important is it to the survival of the next generation of the plant. The algae chlorella also contains spermidine. 

Shiitake mushrooms, peas and long matured cheeses, including Cheddar and Parmesan, also contain spermidine, but the amounts will vary from batch to batch and will depend on growing, soil and harvesting conditions. 

Every batch of Primeadine® Original and Primeadine® GF is independently tested by the Japan Food Research Laboratory to ensure the amount of spermidine in each dose is the amount on the label, which is the minimum effective dose used in human clinical trials.

The concentrated and defatted wheat germ in Primeadine® Original has a beneficial ratio of spermidine to the other polyamines, spermine and putrescine. Together, they form a virtuous polyamine recycling loop, with putrescine a precursor polyamine needed by the body to make more spermine and spermidine should the body need it. 

Concentrated and defatted wheat germ derived spermidine is also well absorbed in the GI tract due to its high molecular mass. Defatting the wheat germ also means that the volatile, oxygen-seeking bonds in the wheat germ oil, which are a Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid (PUFA) like industrial seed oils, are not ingested and made part of your cell membranes. 

Primeadine® GF comes from a sub-strain of chlorella singled out from over 100 others because it alone contains a high level of spermidine and also contains putrescine, the precursor polyamine to both spermine and spermidine. Our chlorella is grown exposed to sunlight to increase the chlorophyll and other nutrient content, such as vitamins D and K, which together help drive calcium to the bones.

No, this is a supplement to a balanced diet. It is not in any way a replacement for a balanced diet.

In clinical studies, hair is the first place where spermidine leads to physically noticeable changes.
Individual results will vary.

We recommend that Primeadine® be taken once a day together with food. Results will vary from person to person.

We manufacture our Primeadine® spermidine in Japan in a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) compliant facility practicing ISO22000 food grade standards, the highest quality control for food manufacturing. The facilities are also registered and regularly inspected by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Quality, purity and other assurance tests are conducted by the Japan Food Research Lab (JFRL) an independent food and compound testing laboratory. Once our product arrives in the United States, it must undergo another round of quality assurance tests to ensure there are no heavy metals, molds, yeasts, or other impurities present. It is then encapsulated and bottled in a US GMP compliant and FDA-registered and inspected manufacturing facility.

Orders are available from our website, which offers secure payment through Shopify and select wholesalers.

•Primeadine® GF does not contain any wheat, gluten or soy.

•Primeadine® Original contains wheat and gluten. The amount of gluten per serving size is <40mgs. A standard slice of American bread will have between 1,000 - 2,000mgs of gluten. Primeadine® Original contains 1/50th to 1/100th the amount of gluten in a single slice of bread.

•Primeadine® GF is suitable for celiacs as it does not contain any wheat, barley, rye or gluten.

•Primeadine® Original is not suitable for celiacs. It contains wheat and gluten. 

•Primeadine® GF does not contain any FODMAP's that might make SIBO worse. Always check with your healthcare practitioner if you are on a special diet.

•Primeadine® Original is a source of FODMAP's and may not be suitable for individuals with SIBO. 

•Primeadine® GF does not contain any FODMAP's and is appropriate for those on a low FODMAP's diet. 

•Primeadine® Original is a concentrated wheat germ supplement and, like all wheat germ, contains FODMAP's.

For optimal results, please take Primeadine® GF with 8 oz / 250ml of water to make sure you are properly hydrated and to prevent possible cramping, headaches and nausea.

Spermidine (a polyamine) and probiotics are not interchangeable, and supplementing with or consuming spermidine will not contribute directly to the diversity of your gut flora, as is the role of probiotics.

That said, our Primeadine Original formula contains a prebiotic, which is what the probiotics in your microbiome feed off of. This means that supplementing with Primeadine® Original will selectively feed 2 strains (fusio & bacteroides bacteria) that produce spermidine internally, but this will only happen if they are already present if your gut biome. 

No. Primeadine® spermidine is a naturally occurring compound that is wholly derived from food sources. It is not classed as medical treatment.

Yes, all of our Primeadine® bottles are made of grade 1 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE).