Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) Powder

Superoxide dismutase is the metalloenzyme class that catalyses the dismutation of the superoxide anion into molecular oxygen and hydrogen peroxide, classified as EC 1.15.1.1 and carried in chemical registries under CAS 9054-89-1. It exists as copper/zinc, manganese and iron forms depending on the organism and the cellular compartment. Thovek's primary grade is the plant enzyme: pulp from a non-GMO melon (Cucumis melo L.) is separated from skin and seeds, crushed, centrifuged, filtered, concentrated and dried to a juice concentrate powder in which the cytosolic copper/zinc enzyme is the standardised constituent at not less than 14,000 IU SOD per gram, equivalent to 14 IU per milligram. Because the article is sold on enzyme activity rather than on a chemical assay, the method behind the number matters as much as the number. Activity is determined by classical inhibition assays in which one unit is the quantity of enzyme that halves the rate of a superoxide-driven indicator reaction under stated conditions, most often cytochrome c reduction after McCord and Fridovich, or nitroblue tetrazolium, or pyrogallol autoxidation. Results from different assays are not interchangeable, so the assay is named on every certificate and buyers should insist on the same basis when comparing offers. Activity is lost by heat above roughly 60 degrees C and by acid below about pH 3, which rules out retort, extrusion and hot-fill processing and argues for cool, dry, dark storage; refrigeration at 2 to 8 degrees C is what holds a high-potency lot at its declared strength to the end of shelf life. Three delivery formats are offered and they differ on allergen status, which is the point buyers most often get wrong. The uncoated concentrate and the palm-oil-coated concentrate, the latter coated to protect activity through gastric passage, are both vegan and gluten-free. A wheat-gliadin matrix format is available on specific request and it contains gluten from wheat: it cannot be declared gluten-free and must be labelled as containing wheat. Microbial fermentation grades from Bacillus and yeast hosts are supplied where a higher unit strength is wanted, and a cosmetic grade is available for topical formulation. Bovine erythrocyte superoxide dismutase, the historical commercial source, is not offered at all, so the range as a whole carries no bovine, porcine, fish, crustacean, milk or egg material. Each lot ships with a certificate of analysis stating activity, the assay used, source, carrier identity and botanical origin, heavy metals and microbiology.