BioPerine® has been clinically tested with several nutrient groups, including fat-soluble vitamins (ß-carotene), water-soluble vitamins (vitamin B6, vitamin C), selenoamino acid [L(+)-Selenomethionine], coenzyme Q10 and shown to significantly enhance the bioavailability of supplemented nutrients through increased absorption. Herbal extracts such as curcumin has also been absorbed better when co-administered with BioPerine®.
Following are some of the studies highlighting the bioavailability enhancing property of BioPerine®:
ß-Carotene
BioPerine® has been clinically tested with several nutrient groups, including fat-soluble vitamins (ß-carotene), water-soluble vitamins (vitamin B6, vitamin C), selenoamino acid [L(+)-Selenomethionine], coenzyme Q10 and shown to significantly enhance the bioavailability of supplemented nutrients through increased absorption. Herbal extracts such as curcumin has also been absorbed better when co-administered with BioPerine®.
In a double-blind, cross-over study small amount of BioPerine® (5 mg) combined with a formula containing 15 mg of ß-carotene, given as a food supplement once a day increased almost 2 – fold the blood levels of ß-Carotene in human volunteers.
However, a 60% increase in the area under the curve was observed during the experimental phase (ß-carotene + BioPerine®) compared to the control after 14-day supplementation.
CoQ10
Bioavailability of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) was evaluated with and without BioPerine® supplementation in a double-blind, single dose clinical study. After 21 days of supplementation, co-administration of BioPerine® resulted in an absolute increase in CoQ10 serum levels by 1.12 µg/ml as compared to 0.85 µg/ml in the control group.
A 30% increase was observed in the area under the curve of CoQ10 supplemented with BioPerine® compared to control.
Curcumin
A clinical study done at St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore, India and published in Planta Medica journal in 1997 provided clinical evidence of piperine’s role in increasing the bioavailability of Curcumin, and has become one of the most downloaded papers of that journal.
BioPerine® significantly improved the uptake of Curcumin – the healthful extract from turmeric roots with clinically – validated efficacy in a wide range of health conditions ranging from inflammation to cancer.
Bioavailability of Curcumin (2000 mg) when co – administered with BioPerine® (20 mg) was enhanced by 20 – fold or 2000% compared to bioavailability of curcumin alone at doses that were devoid of adverse side effects.
Iron
An in vivo study was performed to establish and validate the bioavailability of organic elemental iron (BioIron) in combination with or without BioPerine®. The study involved a single oral dose of BioIron with BioPerine® (group I) or BioIron without BioPerine® (group II) administration to rabbits, and blood samples were collected at different time points.
Results showed that at 8 h time point, serum concentration of iron was significantly higher in group treated with BioIron containing BioPerine® (36.55±9.97 µg/ml) when compared to group treated with BioIron containing no BioPerine®.
Resveratrol
An in vivo study conducted by University of Wisconsin, USA showed that BioPerine® significantly improved the bioavailability of Resveratrol by 229% and the maximum serum concentration (Cmax) was increased by 1544%.
Selenium
In a double-blind study, bioavailability of selenium was evaluated alone and in combination with BioPerine®. The serum selenium levels were approximately 30% higher in the group receiving selenium with BioPerine® after 2 weeks of treatment with a plateau in the subsequent time-points tested. The serum selenium levels were within normal limits in both groups at all time-points tested.
Vitamin B6
Bioavailability of vitamin B6 (100 mg) was evaluated with and without BioPerine®. At 2 h, the maximum serum levels of vitamin B6 was 2.5 times higher in the group receiving BioPerine® as compared to the control group. At 4 hours, vitamin B6 levels in the group receiving BioPerine® were 1.4 times higher as compared to the control group.