From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2007-08-17 17:34:06 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Sunshine Factor (Healx)
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
It doesn't list ingredients? Ingredients should always be looked up=20
when possible for
herbals because like any other med they have cautions,=20
counterindications, etc. but
lack the inserts which tell of those. This topic recently came up so=20
you will find recent
past posts with places to look up ingredients.
If you go to
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/message/3645
you will get a group of messages. Just click on "Expand Messages"=20
and you will find
places where you can look up herbals such as
http://www.altvetmed.org/pages/articles.html
http://vbma.org/
http://www.brainybrawn.com/IMCAccess/HerbSuppIntC_lookup.html
and others
There is a CACHED (apparently no longer active) sales page for the=20
supplement from ExoticDVM found on Google Seach which listed=20
ingredients as
> Has a high antioxidant content (vitamin E) and high carotenoid=20
> content (precursor to vitamin A) =95 Contains a good balance of=20
> essential fatty acids, especially omega 3 and omega 6 =95 Consists of =
> 100% organic Brazilian dende (red palm fruit) oil
and
> for all animals with dry flaky skin
Okay, see if it is this bird supplement:
http://www.24parrot.com/Avix-Sunshine-Factor-Feather-and-Skin-
Supplement-P6586a/
If so, then the ingredients list says that it is
> 100% organic red palm oil
If the company changes hands then the older product may have product-
age related questions, but I don't know if that occurred; it is just=20
a question raised by the ExoticDVM page being only a cached one, and=20
I do NOT know if that site is reputable or not.
Actually, that came up, too, but I don't recall anyone looking it up.
In PubMed several pages come up in studies of red palm oil. So, far=20
I have not seen any involving members of carnivora (which may just=20=20
mean that I missed noticing something on skimming) but you might want=20
to read some of the other abstracts because there are limits for some=20
other animals above which the red palm oil can interfere with=20
nutritional status rather than being a supplement for Vitamin A and=20
some other things.
Here is an abstract from several years ago on both the nutritional=20
content and also on the hypotheses involved. *****Remember that=20
hypotheses do not always pan out.***** There have been recent=20
antioxidant studies, including some on lycopene which turned out to=20
have disappointing null results, and a preliminary study indicates=20
that eating grapefruit daily to every other day might increase risks=20
of breast cancers perhaps due to increased circulating estrogen (:=20
"Prospective Study of Grapefruit Intake and Risk of Breast Cancer In=20
Postmenopausal Women: The Multiethnic Cohort Study." Published in the=20
July 31, 2007, British Journal of Cancer (Vol. 97, No. 3:440-445).=20
First author: K.R. Monroe, PhD, Keck School of Medicine, University=20
of Southern California) so it is always important to remember that=20
things don't always behave in the ways that people would have assumed=20
they might behave. For example:
> Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2002 Mar-Apr;96(2):216-23.
>
> Lack of influence of red palm oil on severity of malaria infection=20
> in pre-school Nigerian children.
> Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2003;12(3):355-62.
>
> Palm fruit chemistry and nutrition.
>
> Sundram K, Sambanthamurthi R, Tan YA.
> Malaysian Palm Oil Board, P.O. Box 10620, 50720 Kuala Lumpur,=20
> Malaysia. kalyana@mpob.gov.my
> The palm fruit (Elaies guineensis) yields palm oil, a palmitic-
> oleic rich semi solid fat and the fat-soluble minor components,=20
> vitamin E (tocopherols, tocotrienols), carotenoids and=20
> phytosterols. A recent innovation has led to the recovery and=20
> concentration of water-soluble antioxidants from palm oil milling=20
> waste, characterized by its high content of phenolic acids and=20
> flavonoids. These natural ingredients pose both challenges and=20
> opportunities for the food and nutraceutical industries. Palm oil's=20
> rich content of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids has=20
> actually been turned into an asset in view of current dietary=20
> recommendations aimed at zero trans content in solid fats such as=20
> margarine, shortenings and frying fats. Using palm oil in=20
> combination with other oils and fats facilitates the development of=20
> a new generation of fat products that can be tailored to meet most=20
> current dietary recommendations. The wide range of natural palm oil=20
> fractions, differing in their physico-chemical characteristics, the=20
> most notable of which is the carotenoid-rich red palm oil further=20
> assists this. Palm vitamin E (30% tocopherols, 70% tocotrienols)=20
> has been extensively researched for its nutritional and health=20
> properties, including antioxidant activities, cholesterol lowering,=20
> anti-cancer effects and protection against atherosclerosis. These=20
> are attributed largely to its tocotrienol content. A relatively new=20
> output from the oil palm fruit is the water-soluble phenolic-
> flavonoid-rich antioxidant complex. This has potent antioxidant=20
> properties coupled with beneficial effects against skin, breast and=20
> other cancers. Enabled by its water solubility, this is currently=20
> being tested for use as nutraceuticals and in cosmetics with=20
> potential benefits against skin aging. A further challenge would be=20
> to package all these palm ingredients into a single functional food=20
> for better nutrition and health.
> Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2002 Fall;57(3-4):319-41.
>
> Links
> Palm oil: biochemical, physiological, nutritional, hematological,=20
> and toxicological aspects: a review.
>
> Edem DO.
> Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Uyo, Uyo,=20
> Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
> The link between dietary fats and cardiovascular diseases has=20
> necessitated a growing research interest in palm oil, the second=20
> largest consumed vegetable oil in the world. Palm oil, obtained=20
> from a tropical plant, Elaeis guineensis contains 50% saturated=20
> fatty acids, yet it does not promote atherosclerosis and arterial=20
> thrombosis. The saturated fatty acid to unsaturated fatty acid=20
> ratio of palm oil is close to unity and it contains a high amount=20
> of the antioxidants, beta-carotene, and vitamin E. Although palm=20
> oil-based diets induce a higher blood cholesterol level than do=20
> corn, soybean, safflower seed, and sunflower oils, the consumption=20
> of palm oil causes the endogenous cholesterol level to drop. This=20
> phenomenon seems to arise from the presence of the tocotrienols and=20
> the peculiar isomeric position of its fatty acids. The benefits of=20
> palm oil to health include reduction in risk of arterial thrombosis=20
> and atherosclerosis, inhibition of endogenous cholesterol=20
> biosynthesis, platelet aggregation, and reduction in blood=20
> pressure. Palm oil has been used in the fresh state and/or at=20
> various levels of oxidation. Oxidation is a result of processing=20
> the oil for various culinary purposes. However, a considerable=20
> amount of the commonly used palm oil is in the oxidized state,=20
> which poses potential dangers to the biochemical and physiological=20
> functions of the body. Unlike fresh palm oil, oxidized palm oil=20
> induces an adverse lipid profile, reproductive toxicity and=20
> toxicity of the kidney, lung, liver, and heart. This may be as a=20
> result of the generation of toxicants brought on by oxidation. In=20
> contrast to oxidized palm oil, red or refined palm oil at moderate=20
> levels in the diet of experimental animals promotes efficient=20
> utilization of nutrients, favorable body weight gains, induction of=20
> hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes, adequate hemoglobinization of=20
> red cells and improvement of immune function. Howerer, high palm=20
> oil levels in the diet induce toxicity to the liver as shown by=20
> loss of cellular radial architecture and cell size reductions which=20
> are corroborated by alanine transaminase to asparate transaminase=20
> ratios which are higher than unity. The consumtion of moderate=20
> amounts of palm oil and reduction in the level of oxidation may=20
> reduce the health risk believed to be associated with the=20
> consumption of palm oil. Red palm oil, by virtue of its beta-
> carotene content, may protect against vitamin A deficiency and=20
> certain forms of cancer.
What red palm oil does possibly due may be that it might help reduce=20
vascular disease (not a concern in ferrets) and it might prove useful=20
for some malignancies (but that is hypothetical so could have=20
surprises in any direction). It supplies some nutrients and fats.=20=20
Most of the studies seem to be on its levels of provitamin A=20
carotenoids.
I could not find anything on the proportions of Omega 3 and Omega 6=20
fatty acids. Existing studies in carnivora indicate that Omega 3=20
fatty acids (high levels in fish oil and in flax seed oil) can be=20
healthy.
BTW, it appears that red palm oil and flax seed oil each *****can go=20
bad***** and can have nasty properties if they do. (Refrigerate flax=20
seed oil.)
If you go to
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez
and use the search terms
red palm oil
then click on the authors of the studies which interest you you'll=20
pull up the study abstracts, and you also will sometimes find links=20
to full studies (some to purchase and some for free).
It pretty much appears that there is a LACK or reputable info on this=20
so you are flying blind. If you decide to try it just do be sure it=20
hasn't gone bad because so far that is the only obvious risk factor I=20
could find which is known so far.
Please, continue searching.
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
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