Cocarboxylase is the coenzyme form of Vitamin B1 present in many animal tissues. Thiamine pyrophosphate (cocarboxylase) is the active form of thiamine, and it serves as a cofactor for several enzymes involved primarily in carbohydrate catabolism. Pancreatic cells obtain thiamin from their surroundings and enzymatically convert it into thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP) in the cytoplasm; TPP is then taken up by mitochondria via a specific carrier the mitochondrial TPP transporter (MTPPT; product of the SLC25A19 gene).

Astaxanthin (ATX), a red-orange carotenoid that originates the pink or red color of salmon, trout, lobster, shrimp, and other sea organisms, exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic effects. Recently, ATX was shown to protect neurons in experimental models of acute injuries, chronic neurodegenerative disorders, and neurological diseases and was proposed as a beneficial strategy to treat neurological diseases. In addition, ATX chelates several metal ions, preventing metal ion-induced oxidative stress, it has anti-inflammatory properties and it acts as a damper of singlet oxygen levels. Being a part of naturally derived supplements Oncotris™ in genitourinary cancer patients was revealed, that astaxanthin could support the body to overcome the treatment-related toxicities - and the relative oxidative stress in cancer patients.

LANTHANUM belongs to the rare earth metals being a prototypical element of this group. Its compounds have numerous industrial applications as catalysts, glass additives, electron cathodes, scintillators, and others. Also, it can be used as a feed additive to improve animal health and production.

Lycopene is the fat-soluble pigment that gives tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit, and other foods their red color. Bioavailability of lycopene is enhanced in the presence of lipids and thermal processing. Lycopene accounts for about 50% of the carotenoids found in human serum and is among the major carotenoids present in human milk. The antioxidant activity of lycopene and its use in cancer prevention and cardiovascular disease have been widely documented. The scientific literature documents some adverse reactions, such as diarrhea, dyspepsia, gas, nausea, and vomiting. One trial documented a cancer-related hemorrhage in a patient taking lycopene, although causality is unclear. Lycopene interacts with some cancer chemotherapy agents, as well as with ciprofloxacin and olestra.

Bisoctrizole (Tinosorb M) is a hybrid type sun blocking agent acting as both chemical and physical sunscreen. Bisoctrizole is a hybrid UV absorber, the only organic UV filter produced and microfine organic particles (< 200 nm), like microfine zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Where other organic UV absorbers need to be dissolved in either the oil or water phase, bisoctrizole dissolves poorly in both. It covers both UVA and UVB range. Furthermore, it does not degrade under sunlight and is not significantly absorbed into the skin. It appear highly compatible with many other common sun blocking agents. Overall, it appears to have a good safety profile, even though current safety data are insufficient and long-term human safety studies are lacking. Unlike some other organic sunscreen actives, it shows no estrogenic effects in vitro. Bisoctrizole is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but is approved in the EU and other parts of the world. Bisoctrizole is highly stable and also has a stabilizing effect on other UV absorbers, particularly the UVB blocker octyl methoxycinnamate (octinoxate). Bisoctrizole appears to be relatively non-toxic and rarely causes skin irritation. As with many synthetic chemicals, it is unclear whether bisoctrizole may produce low-level skin damage or systemic effects with long-term use. Considering that bisoctrizole is stable, poorly soluble and minimally absorbed by the skin, the risks appear to be low. Still, more research is on bisoctrizole safety is needed.

Vitamin E quinone Alpha-tocopherylquinone is formed during free radical attack on vitamin E and has been shown to undergo reduction by NQO1 (NAD(P)H dehydrogenase [quinone] 1) to generate vitamin E hydroquinone. Since it has been recognized that alpha-tocopherylquinone in living tissue for global assessment of antioxidative defense system. The ratio of alpha-tocopherol alpha-tocopherylquinone concentrations were increased under oxidative stress with the exception of plasma. Alpha-tocopherylquinone and a low fat diet have positive effect on a patient with chronic continuous ulcerative colitis. The patient's condition improved dramatically with both colonic and extraintestinal manifestations of the disease. Withdrawal of alpha-tocopherylquinone for periods of one to two days produced recurrence of inflammation, which was again reduced upon re-introduction of alpha-tocopherylquinone.

Lutein is a xanthophyll and one of 600 known naturally occurring carotenoids. Lutein is synthesized only by plants and like other xanthophylls is found in high quantities in green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale and yellow carrots. In green plants, xanthophylls act to modulate light energy and serve as non-photochemical quenching agents to deal with triplet chlorophyll (an excited form of chlorophyll), which is overproduced at very high light levels, during photosynthesis. Xanthophylls are taken for nutritional supplementation, and also for treating dietary shortage or imbalance. Xanthophylls have antioxidant activity and react with active oxygen species, producing biologically active degradation products. They also can inhibit peroxidation of membrane phospholipids and reduce lipofuscin formation, both of which contribute to their antioxidant properties. Lutein is naturally present in the macula of the human retina. It filters out potentially phototoxic blue light and near-ultraviolet radiation from the macula. The protective effect is due in part, to the reactive oxygen species quenching ability of these carotenoids. Lutein is more stable to decomposition by pro-oxidants than are other carotenoids such as beta-carotene and lycopene. Lutein is abundant in the region surrounding the fovea, and lutein is the predominant pigment at the outermost periphery of the macula. Zeaxanthin, which is fully conjugated (lutein is not), may offer somewhat better protection than lutein against phototoxic damage caused by blue and near-ultraviolet light radiation. Lutein is one of only two carotenoids that have been identified in the human lens, may be protective against age-related increases in lens density and cataract formation. Again, the possible protection afforded by lutein may be accounted for, in part, by its reactive oxygen species scavenging abilities. Carotenoids also provide protection from cancer. One of the mechanisms of this is by increasing the expression of the protein connexin-43, thereby stimulating gap junctional communication and preventing unrestrained cell proliferation. Lutein was found to be present in a concentrated area of the macula, a small area of the retina responsible for central vision. The hypothesis for the natural concentration is that lutein helps protect from oxidative stress and high-energy light. Several studies show that an increase in macula pigmentation decreases the risk for eye diseases such as Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). There is also epidemiological evidence that increasing lutein and zeaxanthin intake lowers the risk of cataract development. Consumption of more than 2.4 mg of lutein/zeaxanthin daily from foods and supplements was significantly correlated with reduced incidence of nuclear lens opacities, as revealed from data collected during a 13- to 15-year period in the Nutrition and Vision Project (NVP).

Pantethine, dimeric form of pantothenic acid, is a biologically active form of the B5 vitamin and an intermediate in the production of Coenzyme A. It is available as a dietary supplement, and is used support the healthy blood-cholesterol profile. Pantethine has shown an ability to favorably impact a variety of risk factors in people with hypercholesterolemia, arteriosclerosis and diabetes. It is thought that pantethine, in conjunction with the intermediary cysteamine, inhibits acetyl-coenzyme (CoA) carboxylase and 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase, thereby affecting TG synthesis and lipoprotein metabolism. Pantethine increases CoA levels within the cells, which favorably modifies lipoprotein metabolism. The full mechanism of action of pantethine in lowering cholesterol levels is not fully understood. Since homocysteine is believed to contribute to the onset and progression of atherosclerosis and is involved in the biosynthesis of CoA, it is possible that pantethine impacts homocysteine.

Selenium (Se) is mineral that is found in soil and occurs naturally in certain foods (such as whole grains, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, and seafood). Selenium, which is nutritionally essential for humans, is a constituent of more than two dozen selenoproteins that play critical roles in reproduction, thyroid hormone metabolism, DNA synthesis, and protection from oxidative damage and infection. Selenium is used to treat or prevent selenium deficiency. Selenium deficiency produces biochemical changes that might predispose people who experience additional stresses to develop certain illnesses. For example, selenium deficiency in combination with a second stress (possibly a viral infection) leads to Keshan disease, a cardiomyopathy that occurred in parts of China prior to a government-sponsored selenium supplementation program that began in the 1970s. Before the Chinese government supplementation program, adults in the Keshan disease areas had average selenium intakes of no more than 11 mcg/day; intakes of at least 20 mcg/day protect adults from Keshan disease. Selenium has been used in alternative medicine as an aid to treat Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and to treat high cholesterol. Selenium is an important enzyme in the prevention of cellular damage by free radicals and reactive oxygen species. Selenium is first metabolized to selenophosphate and selenocysteine. Selenium incorporation is genetically encoded through the RNA sequence UGA. This sequence is recognized by RNA ste loop structures called selenocysteine inserting sequences (SECIS). These structures require the binding of SECIS binding proteins (SBP-2) to recognize selenocystiene. The specialized tRNA is first bound to a serine residue which is then enzymatically processed to a selylcysteyl-tRNA by selenocystiene sythase using selenophosphate as a selenium donor. Other unidentified proteins are required as part of the binding of this tRNA to the ribosome. Numerous studies in animal models and more recent studies in humans have demonstrated cancer chemopreventive effects with Se. There is extensive evidence that monomethylated forms of Se are critical metabolites for chemopreventive effects of Se. Induction of apoptosis in transformed cells is an important chemopreventive mechanism. Apoptosis can be triggered by micromolar levels of monomethylated forms of Se independent of DNA damage and in cells having a null p53 phenotype. Cell cycle protein kinase cdk2 and protein kinase C are strongly inhibited by various forms of Se. Inhibitory mechanisms involving modification of cysteine residues in proteins by Se have been proposed that involve formation of Se adducts of the selenotrisulfide (S-Se-S) or selenenylsulfide (S-Se) type or catalysis of disulfide formation. Selenium may facilitate reactions of protein cysteine residues by the transient formation of more reactive S-Se intermediates. A novel chemopreventive mechanism is proposed involving Se catalysis of reversible cysteine/disulfide transformations that occur in a number of redox-regulated proteins, including transcription factors. A time-limited activation mechanism for such proteins, with deactivation facilitated by Se, would allow normalization of critical cellular processes in the early stages of transformation. Randomized controlled trials of selenium supplementation for cancer prevention have yielded conflicting results. In 2003, the FDA allowed a qualified health claim on foods and dietary supplements containing selenium to state that while “some scientific evidence suggests that consumption of selenium may reduce the risk of certain forms of cancer… FDA has determined that this evidence is limited and not conclusive”. Selenium is available in multivitamin/multimineral supplements and as a stand-alone supplement, often in the forms of selenomethionine or of selenium-enriched yeast (grown in a high-selenium medium) or as sodium selenite or sodium selenate.

Ascorbyl palmitate is a fat soluble vitamin C ester. An ester is simply a compound formed by the combination of an organic acid and an alcohol – in this case it is ascorbic acid and palmitic acid (a fat – which is composed of fatty acids and glycerol - an alcohol). Therefore, ascorbyl palmitate is formed by the esterification of ascorbic acid with palmitic acid to form vitamin C ester. Ascorbyl palmitate is an amphipathic molecule, meaning one end is water-soluble and the other end is fat-soluble. This dual solubility allows it to be incorporated into cell membranes. When incorporated into the cell membranes of human red blood cells, ascorbyl palmitate has been found to protect them from oxidative damage and to protect alpha-tocopherol (a fat-soluble antioxidant) from oxidation by free radicals. Basically, the fat-soluble aspect of ascorbyl palmitate extends vitamin C free radical protection into the fat parts of the body. However, the protective effects of ascorbyl palmitate on cell membranes have only been demonstrated in the test tube (in vitro). Taking ascorbyl palmitate orally may not result in any significant incorporation into cell membranes because most of it appears to be hydrolyzed (broken apart into palmitate and ascorbic acid) in the human digestive tract before it is absorbed. The ascorbic acid released by the hydrolysis of ascorbyl palmitate appears to be as bioavailable as ascorbic acid alone. The presence of ascorbyl palmitate in oral supplements contributes to the ascorbic acid content of the supplement and probably helps protect fat-soluble antioxidants in the supplement. This is also true for food products. Ascorbyl palmitate is used to increase the shelf life of vegetable oils and potato chips. The role of vitamin C in promoting collagen synthesis and its antioxidant properties have generated interest in its use on the skin. Ascorbyl palmitate is frequently used in topical preparations because it is more stable than some aqueous (water-soluble) forms of vitamin C. It is also suggested that this form of vitamin C is better able to penetrate the skin and the thin membrane of cells (due to its dual solubility), which can then go on to help produce collagen and elastin.