About FPP

Dr.Mantello's comment on FPP (Director of ORI)

Relation between FPP and Redox Control

Have you ever heard of a term "Redox"? The term redox comes from the two concepts of reduction and oxidation. The redox process is the most fundamental reaction in chemistry with which all living creatures including animals and plants live. It is important to have a good understanding about this reaction to advance our research since mechanism of FPP' function seems to have a lot to do with it.

Human beings grow and get old by functioning these dynamic redox control system in our body.

Don't you hear the word "Oxidative Stress" a lot recently? They say that the possible causes of oxidative stress are UVA, UVB, radiation, heavy metal, etc. "Oxidative Stress" is now demonized that it could cause cancer, aging, and arteriosclerosis, etc. However, minor oxidative stress is necessary for our body because it leads to activate our immune function. In other words, anti-oxidant in our body starts functioning when we perceive oxidative stress. Redox control means this system and also anti-oxidant function to adjust substances which relate to oxidative stress. Human beings grow and get old (degenerate) by functioning these dynamic redox control system in our body.

anti-oxidant function and enhancement of immune function = Redox Control

To scientifically clarify the mechanism of FPP, we can not ignore this Redox Control. Numerous basic researches and clinical data on FPP have proved the fact that FPP has an anti-oxidant function and helps recovery of oxidative damages (enhancement of immune function). These are the very Redox Control. Yet we don't know how and when (in which process) FPP works in the redox control system, which is very complex and hasn't been clarified itself yet in many points.

If the Redox control system of our body is functioning properly, it can decrease oxidative stress in our cell, which means that we have a body which can absorb necessary nutrition from our daily diet. FPP doesn't contain vitamins nor minerals in it. However it functions like them. It must be because FPP affects to some stage of the process of Redox control system. I believe that future researches on FPP bring us more interesting reports about it.

Immune Enhancement and Anti-oxidative Function of FPP

The health of our body is maintained by the equilibrium of Oxidation and Reduction. Excessive external factors can disturb this equilibrium triggering disease and illnesses. DNA damage caused by oxidative stress is particularly dangerous and has the potential to lead to serious disorders. Here we present the immune enhancement and anti-oxidative function of FPP.

Redox control means maintaining the balance between active oxygen species and antioxidant enzymes

Previously we discussed what Redox is. This time, we are talking about a biomarker which indicates if the Redox system is functioning properly in our body. Active oxygen species are vital to for life, however once this active oxygen exceeds a certain level; it causes considerable damage to our cells and threatens our health. Normally about 2% of oxygen inhaled by our respiratory system turns into active oxygen in our body and is used to protect us against external attack from, bacteria, germs, viruses and other foreign substances. However, when levels of active oxygen species are increased by tobacco, alcohol, ultra-violet rays, air-pollution, food additives, emotional stress, etc., excessive active oxygen starts attacking not only dangerous substances but also normal functioning cells, damaging DNA and causing cancers. This state is called oxidative stress. As long as a balance exists between oxidative stress and our antioxidant system, our body is maintained in a healthy state. However, excessive oxidative stress leads to various illnesses, such as digestive troubles, cardiovascular disease or immune disorders.

Clinical report on FPP and repairing oxidative DNA damage

Clinical data produced by Dr. Francesco Marotta at the Milan University showed that FPP has the ability to repair the effects of oxidative damage on DNA as well as to prevent it, as indicated by using an effective bio-marker called 8-OH-dG. In other words, FPP has the capacity of helping the DNA to recover to a normal state (immune enhance function) and an anti-oxidant function.

At the Osato Research Institute, we use a kit to measure this 8-OH-dG, which is an excellent bio-marker for oxidative stress, using urine. We are hoping to do new research on oxidative stress using this 8-OH-dG measurement kit. I hope we can expand our research by clarifying the relation between FPP and oxidative stress.

What is 8-OH-dG
Our body consists of approx. 60 trillion cells and in those cells we have a "blueprint" to produce functional life. The "blueprint" is called "DNA" which is found in every cells of every life form, and consists of four types of nucleotides: adenine ( A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T). The DNA compound which contains guanine (G) is called deoxyguanosine (dG) and it gets changed into 8-OH-dG (8-hydroxy- deoxyguanosine) when its 8th carbon is oxidized by free radical (as shown in FIG.) When the oxidative damage to DNA is repaired, 8-OH-dG will be passed out of the cells and excreted in the urine. 8-OH-dG remains stable until it is released in the urine and analyzed. 8-OH-dG taken from food does not remain in the urine. Therefore, 8-OH-dG is an excellent biomarker to determine the extent of oxidative damage in our body.  It will not show us which part of the body is damaged by free radical activity but it does enable us to evaluate our overall health status in relation to oxidative stress.

Figure : Formation process of 8-OH-dG

Health and the immune system

Our bodies have powerful natural systems designed to protect our health. They constantly fight against attacks from various threats. These systems are generally divided into two: first, the immune system for fighting against attacks from viruses and cancers; and second, the anti-oxidant system for fighting against oxidative stress through the elimination of excessive active oxygen. FPP functions to enhance both of these systems.

1) Immune system for fighting against attacks from viruses and cancers.
2) Anti-oxidant system for fighting against oxidative stress through the elimination of excessive active oxygen.

FPP functions to enhance both of these systems.

FPP enhances immune system

The immune system is essential for dealing with ultraviolet rays, pollution, physical stress, diseases, etc. Diagram 1 shows how the risk of infectious diseases or cancers increases as our immune system gets weaker and weaker through the aging process. The human immune system will begin to decrease after peaking sometime in the late teens to early twenties. Accordingly, the risk of infectious diseases and cancers will increase as shown in red in Diagram 1.
There are many clinical reports which prove that FPP is effective in enhancing the immune system. Dr. Luc Montagnier, MD, co-discoverer of HIV, has given his AIDS patients FPP together with ordinary medical treatment. His results show that the patients who took FPP gained weight and their CD4 (a glycoprotein expressed on the surface of T helper cells) levels increased. Also, Dr. Marc Weksler, MD, of Cornell University, took interest in the fact that elderly people cannot produce antibodies even after they receive flu shots due to their compromised immune systems.
The results of his study show that the capacity for antibody formation in his patients increased when they took FPP for three weeks before the flu shots.

Diagram 1

FPP fights against excessive active oxygen

In the previous article, we discussed the redox system. Active oxygen is produced when white blood cells kill viruses and bacteria entering our body, as well as when cells produce energy. Therefore, active oxygen is essential for us to live. It is also produced when we are exposed to ultraviolet radiation or experience other damage due to an unhealthy lifestyle. Excessively produced active oxygen will start attacking our own cells, including our cell membranes and DNA. When these attacks continue unchecked, they cause physical and psychological fatigue, and can also cause various long-term diseases. The redox system works to rid our bodies of this excessive active oxygen. However, the functionality of the redox system itself weakens when we get older. As shown in Diagram 2, the older we get, the more oxidative stress we experience. This is why we have more fatigue and disease in old age. Dr. Francesco Marotta, MD, of Milan University in Italy has performed many clinical studies on the function of FPP in eliminating active oxygen. He reported that FPP helps to reduce DNA damage in gastric mucosa as well as in the liver. These organs are easily affected by oxidative stress (as introduced in ORI Report # 4: clinical study using 8OH-dG as a stress marker). In conclusion, the immune and anti-oxidant systems protect our bodies from active oxygen, but these systems diminish over time and also due to stressful lifestyles. We need a product like FPP to support these vital systems. The daily intake of FPP will help these systems function optimally for a long time.

Diagram 2