Manapol aloe vera gel extract. Manapol extract, Mannatech’s very special polysaccharide, is a long-chain carbohydrate consisting mostly of the simple sugar mannose. It was licensed to Mannatech in 1994 when we first introduced the world’s first glyconutritional product, Man•Aloe® supplement, and it is exclusive to Mannatech today. It was revolutionary then, and it’s revolutionary now.

Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcKhR7LddN8

What Makes Manapol Extract Revolutionary?

Back in the 1980s, scientists were accustomed to attributing the benefits of foods and medicinal plants to their constituent vitamins, minerals, fats or proteins. Back then, Dr. Bill McAnalley (who later became Mannatech’s first Chief Science Officer) ( youtube video ob Bill McAnalle http://bit.ly/LSsns2)  and other scientists discovered that many of the amazing topical and oral benefits of aloe vera gel could be attributed to a polysaccharide (that Dr. McAnalley isolated in its stabilized [acetylated^‡] form and named Acemannan). Researchers demonstrated that these mannose-rich long chains of sugars in aloe vera gel provided impressive immune system support.* Dr. McAnalley then developed the Manapol extract by modifying Acemannan so that it was suitable for human dietary intake.

Dr. McAnalley soon became interested in the role that mannose plays in human cellular communication, and went on to develop Mannatech’s second and third generation glyconutritional dietary supplements, Ambrotose® complex and Advanced Ambrotose® products. Leading the way as a pioneer in glyconutritional technology, Mannatech remains committed to the science of life-changing wellness possibilities. To date, more than 50 patents related to the technology behind our Ambrotose products have been issued globally, and these products are available exclusively through Mannatech.

More on Manapol Powder

Manapol powder is extracted from fresh, washed and filtered aloe vera gel by a specialized extraction method that yields insoluble fibers and stabilized, high molecular weight (MW) soluble fibers rich in long-chain mannose sugars—β-(1-4)-acetylated polymannans. The MW of over 20% of Manapol is >800,000. It also contains the monosaccharide sugars arabinose, fucose, galactose, galacturonic acid, glucosamine, glucose, glucuronic acid, rhamnose and xylose (1),(2),(3). Ambrotose complex powder provides an excellent source of Manapol powder.

Reference List

1.   Luta G, McAnalley B. Aloe vera: chemical composition and methods used to determine its presence in commercial products. GlycoScience & Nutrition 2005;6:1–12.

2.   Duncan, C., Ramberg, J., and Sinnott, R. Striking  differences in Aloe vera gel carbohydrate composition, molecular weight and particle size distributions following processing will not be addressed by dietary supplement GMPs.  1-5. 2008. Poster Presentation at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine’s 5th Annual Natural Supplements Conference, San Diego, California. January 17–20, 2008.

3.   Luta G, Duncan C, Sinnott R. Chemical characterization of polysaccharide-rich ingredients from Aloe vera, Larix laricina and Larix occidentalis, and Undaria pinnatifida. Poster Presentation at the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine’s 6th Annual Natural Supplements Conference, San Diego, California. January 22–25, 20

A patent is a legal form of protection granted to an inventor of a useful product or process, allowing the individual (or company) to retain sole ownership of the thing or the idea, so that others cannot make, use, sell or distribute it without permission. In all countries, patents are valid for a limited number of years (generally about 20 from the filing date in the U.S.), providing the inventor with a reasonable amount of time to share the intellectual property publicly and sell and distribute it exclusively.

Getting a patent is not easy. In fact, the process consists of a rigorous maze of hurdles and qualifications that must be successfully navigated and cleared. After patent applications have been reviewed, thorough examinations have been made (usually by scientists and engineers) and the invention has been exhaustively vetted, then a patent may be granted. At this point, the inventor’s idea, or intellectual property, will be protected under a specific set of guidelines and rules. If a patent is infringed upon, the patentee may sue the unauthorized user/seller in federal court.

So, when a patent is granted, it’s safe to say that it’s serious business and the product or idea is one of great efficacy, value and integrity.

What does this have to do with Mannatech?

Everything.

Patents? Dr. John Rollins Has More Than 70.

Mannatech’s proprietary product, Ambrotose^® , doesn’t just have a patent. It has more than 50 patents in countries all over the world. That is no small feat.

And if that isn’t enough to eliminate any questions about whether Mannatech is a scam, consider Dr. John Rollins, a top-notch medical biologist. For 15 years, he was a Biotech Patent Examiner at the U.S. Office of Trademarks and Patents in Washington, D.C. He not only endorses Mannatech and Ambrotose products, he was also working at the Patent Office when the technology behind Ambrotose was being reviewed.

Dr. Rollins often shares the story of his first encounter with Ambrotose in the 1980s. He was examining a series of patent applications from an inventor, Dr. Bill McAnalley, who claimed he had been able to isolate a particular compound from aloe and that this compound was a saccharide, or complex sugar, that supported the immune system and affected cell-to-cell communication. Dr. Rollins says he was “skeptical” when he first heard about it because, at that time, in the area of glycobiology technologies, sugars didn’t have the reputation for supporting things like the immune system and cell-to-cell communication.

However, as Dr. Rollins began to examine the technology a little more he says, “…it was a goose pimple raising experience for me.”

“We could see that this discovery really was going against the grain of what glycobiologists were thinking. This theory of supporting the immune system, of supporting cell-to-cell communication, was 180 degrees away from the thinking of the traditional carbohydrate chemist . . . now, of course, we understand why a new scientific theory, particularly one as bold and game-changing as this is, received such scrutiny.”

The next time you hear or read about a “scam” related to Mannatech, remember that this company has several proprietary products, and more than 70 patents have been issued worldwide for the technology related to some of those products.  Then think about the highly critical patent review process. If Mannatech did not have viable and innovative technology to offer, it wouldn’t have so many patents.

To learn more about Mannatech’s highly acclaimed Ambrotose products, go to Ambrotose.com today. You’ll see that this product, and Mannatech, is just about as real as it gets.

Recently, the media has pounced on a couple of published studies, which reported that dietary supplements can be bad for you. One study found that intake of vitamin E increased the risk of prostate cancer (1); another reported that post menopausal women who took certain vitamins and minerals had an increased risk of dying (2). It’s not surprising that many consumers have responded by tossing out their supplements. You may be feeling more wary about your supplement intake as well.

It’s unfortunate that previous studies, which showed supplements either had positive effects or had no negative effects, have been largely ignored by the press. Nonetheless, to make good decisions, it’s important to explore the details of the supplement studies in question. When we did just that, we found that the men in the prostate cancer study were taking a very high dose of synthetic vitamin E. Complete product and dosage information was not provided in the study of post-menopausal women, but doses of the most dangerous supplement, iron, were also very high—suggesting that these women were being treated for a health condition. It can thus be argued that the take-home message from these negative studies is something many of us already knew: high doses of supplements, particularly synthetic supplements, can be harmful.

Given the well-established fact that most people consume a nutrient-poor diet, it also seems unwise, based on a couple of negative studies, to “throw out the baby with the bath water.” In fact, highly regarded nutrition experts continue to endorse the judicious use of high-quality dietary supplements. (I also agree). Mannatech agrees, and has long been devoted to developing dietary supplements based on Real Food Technology^® solutions.

Cases in point: Mannatech’s PhytoMatrix^® caplets and Ambrotose AO^® capsules are both NSF-certified, Kosher-certified, gluten free and suitable for vegetarians. The PhytoMatrix product, which provides sensible amounts of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, is the best vitamin/mineral supplement available today. Ambrotose AO is a clinically effective product containing a blend of food-based antioxidant nutrients in sensible quantities (unlike most antioxidant supplements, which pack in high-dose synthetic ingredients and have demonstrated no clinical benefits) (3).

To foster more informed nutrition and health choices, Mannatech and Texas Woman’s University have developed a unique online university-level course, which includes instruction on comprehensive nutrition, integrative health and dietary supplementation. The course, which will be available in early 2012, is unique in that it provides guidance for effectively coaching those interested in pursuing healthy behavioral changes.

Reference List

1.   Klein EA, Thompson IM, Jr., Tangen CM, et al. Vitamin E and the risk of prostate cancer: the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT). JAMA 2011;306:1549–56.

2.   Mursu J, Robien K, Harnack LJ, Park K, Jacobs DR, Jr. Dietary Supplements and Mortality Rate in Older Women: The Iowa Women’s Health Study. Arch Intern Med 2011;171:1625–33.

3.   Bloomer RJ, Canale RE, Blankenship MM, Fisher-Wellman KH. Effect of Ambrotose AO on resting and exercise-induced antioxidant capacity and oxidative stress in healthy adults. Nutr J2010;9:1–17.