How safe is Seanol®?
Seanol® is a mixture of purified, bioactive compounds called phlorotannins from Ecklonia cava. It is a safe food ingredient that has been approved by major FDAs around the world.
[1]
No Side Effects
After 6 clinical trials* and over 13,000 bottles sold, no side effects have been reported so far.
[2]
FDA Approved Ingredient
Seapolynol® has also been approved by the Food & Drug Administrations of USA, Europe, South Korea and Ireland as a new dietary ingredient. This means that the safety of this ingredient has been independently reviewed and approved by numerous government organizations.
It is the only Ecklonia cava extract that can be legally sold in these countries.
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Selected & Purified compounds
Seanol® is more purified than whole natural extracts.
Seanol® contains only specific compounds called phlorotannins, and the purification process removes any environmental contaminants such as iodine, iron, lead or other heavy metals.
[4]
Investigational New Drug
Ecklonia cava phlorotannins, under the name PH100, was approved as an Investigational New Drug (IND) by the United States FDA in 2013. It is undergoing clinical trials in the United States and in other countries.
It has already completed phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials.
Ecklonia cava phlorotannins are not yet approved as drugs, but are being investigated in humans for treatment of various conditions.
* References for Clinical Trials
1. Kim J, Jung Y, Lee E, Jang S, Ryu DH, Kwon O, Hwang GS. Urinary Metabolomic profiling analysis and evaluation of the effect of Ecklonia cava extract intake. Nutrients. 2020 May 14;12(5):1407. doi: 10.3390/nu12051407. PMID: 32422870; PMCID: PMC7285171.
2. Oh JK, Shin YO, Yoon JH, Kim SH, Shin HC, Hwang HJ. Effect of supplementation with Ecklonia cava polyphenol on endurance performance of college students. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2010 Feb;20(1):72-9. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.20.1.72. PMID: 20190354.
3. Lee SH, Jeon YJ. Efficacy and safety of a dieckol-rich extract (AG-dieckol) of brown algae, Ecklonia cava, in pre-diabetic individuals: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Food Funct. 2015 Mar;6(3):853-8. doi: 10.1039/c4fo00940a. PMID: 25608849.
4. Shin HC, Kim SH, Park Y, Lee BH, Hwang HJ. Effects of 12-week oral supplementation of Ecklonia cava polyphenols on anthropometric and blood lipid parameters in overweight Korean individuals: a double-blind randomized clinical trial. Phytother Res. 2012 Mar;26(3):363-8. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3559. Epub 2011 Jun 30. PMID: 21717516.
5. Lee DH, Park MY, Shim BJ, Youn HJ, Hwang HJ, Shin HC, Jeon HK. Effects of Ecklonia cava polyphenol in individuals with hypercholesterolemia: a pilot study. J Med Food. 2012 Nov;15(11):1038-44. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2011.1996. PMID: 23126663.
6. Lee HJ, Kwon O, Kim JY. Supplementation of a polyphenol extract from Ecklonia cava reduces body fat, oxidative and inflammatory stress in overweight healthy subjects with abdominal obesity: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. J Funct Foods. 2018 Jul;46:356-364. doi: 10.1016/j.jff.2018.04.062.