PHARMANEX®
Biophotonic
Scanner
The Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner S1 and S2 are patented
applications of Raman Spectroscopy for the measurement of
carotenoid antioxidant nutrients in living tissue for the
improvement of nutrition. The use of biophotonics to assess
biological molecules in living tissue is a distinct scientific
discipline, and the Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner is an instrument
that is based on the same principles. The use of Raman Spectroscopy
for the assessment of human tissue carotenoids has been validated
by at least eight peer-reviewed studies conducted by third party
entities unrelated to Pharmanex or the supplementation industry
(Bernstein,1998, 2002; Ermakov, 2004a, 2004b; Gellermann, 2004,
2002; Hata, 2000; Zhao, 2003).
In addition, Pharmanex has validated the use of Raman Spectroscopy
for the measurement of carotenoids in several studies including a
large scale clinical screening study with 1,375 subjects that
confirmed a correlation between antioxidant status and lifestyle
parameters (Smidt, 2003). A second study established efficacy of
LifePak to improve the antioxidant status of subjects over a 12
week period (Smidt, 2002), and a third study established a highly
significant correlation (r=0.78, p < 0.001) between blood
carotenoid levels and skin carotenoid levels as assessed by the
Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner (Smidt, 2004a). A fourth study was
presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of the American College of
Nutrition in Long Beach, California (Zidichouski, 2004). The study
demonstrated that the Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner measurement has
less variability than blood carotenoids (measured by the
conventional HPLC method). A fifth study was presented by Dr. James
Rippe at the National Meeting of the American College of Sports
Medicine in June 2004 (Indianapolis, IN). This study confirmed that
in overweight and obese individuals the level of adipose tissue
accumulation negatively influenced skin carotenoid levels, and thus
antioxidant status.
A sixth study was recently completed to establish skin carotenoid
levels as an indicator of overall antioxidant status. The
researchers investigated correlations between skin carotenoid
levels (Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner) and blood serum antioxidants
(vitamins C and E and carotenoids by HPLC), as well as urinary
isoprostanes, which are widely regarded as the best measure of
oxidative stress in the body. Together these results confirm that
the Pharmanex BioPhotonic Scanner is a very good noninvasive
indicator of overall antioxidant status in the body, as well as a
good indicator of overall oxidative stress.
