1. What is Lyprinol?
Lyprinol is the registered name for a whole lipid extract, isolated from the New
Zealand Greenshell Mussel, Perna canaliculus, containing a unique group of ETA's (Eicosatetraenoic Acids). Lyprinol® is a well documented, proven and researched success story for the treatment of inflammation.
The patented Lyprinol Extract is sold throughout Asia, Australia, Holland, Israel, New Zealand, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, UK, Canada, Ireland and USA. It is only sold in Soft Gel Capsules which are manufactured world wide by RP Scherer. Lyprinol has been developed and is manufactured by Mac Lab in Nelson, NZ, in the heart of the Greenshell Mussel growing area. It is marketed and distributed internationally by Pharmacolink International Ltd. in Europe, in cooperation with BioMatryx Asia Co., Ltd., is the exclusive distributor.
Scientists in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Japan have studied Lyprinol for more than twenty years. Lyprinol has been discovered and proven to be a natural, safe and effective inhibitor of the lipoxygenase pathways in humans, one of the principal inflammation pathways in the human body.
Lyprinol has been used successfully for the treatment of Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid
Arthritis, Asthma and Gout and is being studied for its effectiveness against the other inflammatory diseases such as Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Lupus, Psoriasis and others. Importantly, Lyprinol, as a natural food extract, causes no gastrointestinal toxicity or other side effects.
One Lyprinol Soft Gel Capsule containing 50mgs of this unique highly concentrated and stabilized extract oil, has the equivalent active ingredient of over 40 x 500 mgs capsules of stabilised Greenshell Mussel Powder.
 2. Analytical Profile of Lyprinol
Lyprinol is unique marine lipid oil extracted from the “stabilized” freeze dried flesh of New Zealand's Green Lipped Mussel, Perna canaliculus. It is a unique and synergistically linked group of six marine lipid groups including omega-3 PUFA's, ETA's, EPA's, DHA and others. It is several hundred times more powerful that MaxEPA and fish oil, evening primrose oil and flax oil. Lyprinol has been proven to inhibit the lipoxygenase pathways in the human body with no side effects at all.
Lyprinol is quite different in structure compared to other marine oils in both the bonding of the omega fatty acids and of course its efficacy. Following is a description of Lyprinol provided to us by Andrew Sinclair, Professor of Food Science at Australia’s RMIT.
1. Lyprinol is an orange to dark orange viscous liquid obtained by the supercritical carbon dioxide extraction of the New Zealand Green Lipped Mussel. Lyprinol is a mixture of five main lipid classes. The minimum amounts of these different lipids in Lyprinol are as follows:
• sterol esters (5%),
• triacylglycerol (10%),
• free fatty acids (10%),
• sterols (2%),
• polar lipids including monoacyl- and diacyl-glycerols (1%).
2. There about approximately 8-10 different marine sterols in the sterol ester and sterol fraction. The main sterols are (each representing at least 10% of the total sterols present).
• cholesterol,
• brassicasterol,
• 24-methylenecholesterol
• 22-cis-dehydrocholesterol
3. Lyprinol contains more than 30 different fatty acids which are mixtures of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The main fatty acids are (each representing at least 10% of total fatty acids).
• palmitic acid
• palmitoleic acid,
• eicosapentaenoic acid and
• docosahexaeonoic acid
4. Lyprinol is a source of long chain omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, essential for health in humans. The two main Omega 3 PUFA present in Lyprinol® are
• eicosapentaenoic acid (20 carbons and 5 double bonds, shorthand = 20:5 omega 3)
• docasahexaenoic acid (22: 6 omega 3).
5. Lyprinol contains several other fatty acids which belong to the omega 3 PUFA family. These fatty acids all have four double bonds and have carbon chain lengths of 18 and 20 carbon atoms, respectively; thus they are described as
• 18:4 omega 3 (18:4 v3 or 18:4n-3)
• 20:4 omega 3.
A possible monograph for Lyprinol® would be “an orange to dark orange viscous oil containing free fatty acids and sterol esters rich in palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid and sterols rich in cholesterol, brassicasterol, 24-methylenecholesterol and 22-cis-dehydrocholesterol”.
The lipids and fatty acids in Lyprinol® are common constituents of the human diet, particularly for people consuming fish, shell fish and marine molluscs. These foods have been consumed by humans throughout the course of human evolution. The percentage composition of the extracts analysed to date (12 analyses) is shown below:
Fraction Mean (range)
SE 9 (8-11)
TAG 69 (60-80)
FFA 11 (6-14)
DAG 6 (4-9)
S 3 (2-4)
MAG 1 (1-2)
PL 0.7 (0.5-0.8)
SE = sterol esters, TAG = triglycerides, FFA = free fatty acids, S = sterols, MAG =
monoglycerides, PL = phospholipids. Main peaks from the GLC profiles are shown below, with the data expressed as percent of total fatty acids:
Peak Retention Time Mean
Myristic (14.0) 13.3 mins 5 (4-6)
Palmitic (16:0) 17:0 17 (15-18)
Palmitoleic (16:1) 17.7 10 (8-11)
Stearic (18:0) 20.1 2 (2-3)
Oleic acid (18:1) 20.7 2 (2-3)
Octadecamonoenoic (18:1) 20.8 2 (2-3)
Linoleic (18:2) 21.6 1.5 (1.3-1.7)
Linolenic (18:3) 22.8 1.6 (1.2-1.8)
Octadecatetraenoic (18:4) 23.4 3 (2-4)
Eicosapentaenoic (20:5) 27.5 18 (16-20)
Docosahexaenoic (22:6) 33.1 15 (13-17)
3. Comparison with other Products
In vivo studies undertaken at The University of Queensland tested the anti-arthritic properties of Lyprinol.
Using the standard model for evaluating the potency of anti-arthritic drugs, Lyprinol®™ was measured against its ability to reduce the swelling which occurs in adjuvant induced poly arthritis in rats. Inflammopharmacology. The results were dramatic, with Lyprinol®™ reducing joint swelling by 93% compared with untreated controls.
Following these outstanding findings The University of Queensland scientists set out to compare Lyprinol®™ with two widely used anti-arthritic drugs, namely Indomethacin & Ibuprofen.
When given orally at the same dose rate (5mg/kg body wt./day) Lyprinol®™ outperformed the drugs Indomethacin & Ibuprofen by a factor of 2:1. This was a staggeringly successful outcome for Lyprinol.
More recently a double blind clinical trial conducted at the West Glasgow Hospital University NHS Trust involving 60 patients, 30 of whom had classical rheumatoid arthritis and 30 with clinical & radiological evidence of osteoarthritis, showed outstanding results.
Both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis patients showed a significant improvement with 76.7% of the rheumatoid and 70% of the osteoarthritic patients benefiting from the trial. If the drop-outs are excluded, then 79% of rheumatoid patients and 80% of osteoarthritic patients benefited.
* The results from this paper have been published in the journal "Complementary Therapies in Medicine". (Sept. 1998)
Lyprinol®™ was compared with Flax Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Salmon Oil and Max EPA (fish oil) in the adjuvant induced poly arthritis test system. Studies Whitehouse Inflammopharmacology 1+2
On a dosage per body weight basis Lyprinol®™ is:
• 100 times more potent than Max EPA
• 125 times more potent than Green lipped mussel powder
• 175 times more potent than Evening Primrose Oil
• 175 times more potent than Salmon Oil
• 200 times more potent than Flax Oil in controlling the joint swelling associated with arthritis.
4. How it works
 The process of inflammation is highly complex and is defined as the body's reaction to physical, chemical or biological injury which, in a normal healthy individual, results in the localisation of the problem and regeneration or repair of the damaged tissue. Unfortunately, inflammatory response is not always beneficial to the individual.
A prime example is that of osteoarthritis, an inflammatory disease which can effect all the bone joints of the human body but primarily affects the "wear and tear" joints of the feet, knees, hands, hips, shoulders, elbows and back which have usually had the effects of many years of work and sometimes injury.
In certain circumstances, the process itself can cause damage and injury. The auto-immune disease, rheumatoid arthritis, where the body attacks itself, and the hypersensitive states leading to asthma and anaphylactic shock, are examples of uncontrolled inflammatory responses.
Initiation and control of the inflammatory process is complex and governed by an array of biomolecular mechanisms. One important pro-inflammatory mechanism is closely associated with cell-membrane bound arachidonic acid, which becomes converted into other compounds in the body which are potent inflammation-supporting substances.
This occurs by two major pathways in our metabolism:
The 5-lipoxygenase pathway leading to the formation of leukotrienes, and The cyclo-oxygenase pathway which leads to the formation of prostaglandins and thromboxanes
Many of the products of these pathways have potent inflammation-supporting properties. For instance, LTB 4 is a potent chemotactic agent capable of attracting large numbers of leucocytes (white blood cells), to the site of the injury. While LTC 4, LTD 4, and LTE 4, which are metabolites of LTB 4, are potent bronchoconstricting agents and were formerly identified as SRS-A's (slow reacting substance of anaphylaxis), a key factor in anaphylactic shock.
Currently used anti-inflammatory drugs function mainly by inhibiting the cyclo-oxygenase pathway. In view of the important functions of the inflammatory process ascribed to the lipoxygenase pathway, there has been considerable scientific effort to develop a 5-lipoxygenase pathway inhibitor over the past decade.
Lyprinol has been discovered and proven to be a natural, safe and effective inhibitor of the lipoxygenase pathways in humans, one of the principal inflammation pathways in the human body.
5. Doseage
Most people should begin with two capsules twice a day for one to two weeks or until desired results are felt. Some may try three times a day during this period.
Thereafter, decrease your dosage to one or two capsules once or twice a day as desired
The daily level needed to obtain maximum effect can vary for each individual. If your body requires less, temporary initial irritation of symptoms may occur with too high a dosage. If this occurs, simply decrease the amount taken. Some individuals with serious needs may not receive maximum benefit from Lyprinol® for four weeks, so it is important to not discontinue too soon.
Capsules should be consumed with or after meals with water.
Ingredients per capsule:
• Natural mono-unsaturated Olive oil - 100mg;
• Lyprinol® GLM pat.lipids (Eicosatetraenoic acid) - 50mg;
• Vitamin E (D-alpha-Tocepherol) as antioxidant - 0.225mg.
Capsule: Gelatin; Sorbitol syrup; Glycerin |
