Clinical Efficacy of Lit-Control pH Balance

Efficacy of Mixtures of Magnesium, Citrate and Phytate as Calcium Oxalate Crystallisation Inhibitors in Urine

Grases F, et al., Journal of Urology Vol. 194, 1-8, September 2015

Purpose:

The main aim of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mixtures of magnesium, citrate and phytate as calcium oxalate crystallization inhibitors.

Materials and methods:

A turbidimetric assay in synthetic urine was performed to obtain induction times for calcium oxalate crystallization in the absence and presence of different mixtures of inhibitors. The morphology of calcium oxalate crystals in the absence or presence of inhibitors and mixtures of the inhibitors was evaluated in 2 crystallization experiments at low and high calcium oxalate supersaturation. The crystals formed were examined using scanning electron microscopy.

Results:

Examination of crystallization induction times revealed clear inhibitory effects of magnesium, citrate and phytate on calcium oxalate crystallization, supporting usefulness in the treatment and prevention of calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis. Significant synergistic effects between magnesium and phytate were observed. Scanning electron microscopy images revealed that phytate is a powerful crystal growth inhibitor of calcium oxalate, totally preventing the formation of trihydrate and monohydrate. In addition to crystallization inhibition capacity, citrate and magnesium avoided calcium oxalate crystallization by decreasing its supersaturation.

Conclusions:

The synergistic effect between magnesium and phytate on calcium oxalate crystallization suggests that a combination of these 2 compounds may be highly useful as antilithiasis therapy.

• Phytin (when it is in the form of a mineral salt), also called phytate or inositol hexaphosphate, is a highly polar substance negatively charged under physiological conditions (Fig. 1).
• Phytin has been shown to have a strong activity of inhibiting the crystallization of calcium oxalates and calcium phosphates.5
• Phytin has been shown to be as effective as citrate with 54-fold lower amounts (120 mg of phytate vs. 6800 mg of citrate) (Fig. 2).6

• Citrate (as a chelator) as well as phytin (as an inhibitor) hinder calcium crystallization. However, citrate also has an alkalizing action (Fig. 3).6
• The increase in pH with citrate is contraindicated in patients with alkaline lithiasis (calcium phosphate and infectious stones).
• Increased pH with citrate supposes a lithogenic risk when the patient’s pH or stone type is unknown.

• Citrate treatment can cause gastrointestinal disorders (10%) with a consequent decrease of up to 25% of treatment compliance.7
• Potassium citrate can generate hyperkalemia, posing a risk for patients with cardiac arrhythmias or chronic kidney disease.8

What is Lit-Control pH Up?

Lit-Control pH Up is specifically formulated to increase urinary pH and maintain urinary health. Lit-Control pH Up is a clinically proven food supplement in the form of a capsule, composed of an alkalizer; potassium-magnesium citrate, recommended by European guidelines on urology, and a specific inhibitor of the crystallisation of uric acid; theobromine.

What is Lit-Control Down Up?

Lit-Control pH Down is specifically formulated to decrease urinary pH and maintain urinary health. Lit-Control pH Down is a clinically proven food supplement in the form of a capsule, composed of an acidifier; L-methionine, recommended by European guidelines on urology, and an inhibitor of the crystallisation of calcium; phytates.

Clinical Efficacy of Lit-Control pH Up and pH Down

Urinary pH as a Target in the Management of Lithiasic Patients in Real-World Practice: Monitoring and Nutraceutical Intervention for a Nonlithogenic pH Range

Juan Antonio Galan-Llopis, Carlos Torrecilla-Ortiz, Maria Pilar Luque-Gálvez, Prevent-Lit Group, Xavier Peris-Nieto, Jordi Cuñé-Castellana. May 30th, 2019.

Introduction:

We assessed the effectiveness of the joint use of a pH meter in combination with dietary supplements in restoring the urinary pH balance of patients with medical history of uric acid or calcium phosphate/calcium oxalate stones in real-world practice.

Methods:

An interventional, prospective, and open-label study was performed. At baseline visit, patients were assigned to a group according to the type of previous calculus and urinary pH: the alkalinizer group (uric acid stones and/or pH < 5.5) and acidifier group (calcium oxalate stones and/or pH > 6.2) received dietary supplement to increase or decrease, respectively, urinary pH. Patients were examined at baseline and after treatment for 30, 60, and 90 days. Urinary pH, type of therapy, compliance, and self-reported renal colic events were recorded at each visit.

Results:

The study included 143 patients, 45.5% in the alkalinizer group and 54.5% in the acidifier group, and the mean age was 53.60 years. Both nutraceuticals were significantly effective in normalizing urinary pH (P < 0.00001) at all follow-up visits compared with baseline, with a maximum percentage of patients who achieved nonlithogenic pH (54.9%) at day 60 (P < 0.00001). Analysis of the effect of treatment compliance at 60 days indicated that 71.8% of compliant and 45.9% of noncompliant patients achieved nonlithogenic pH (odds ratio [OR]: 3.03, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.29-6.66). A Cox-regression model indicated that nonlithogenic pH at 90 days (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.428, 95% CI: 0.193-0.947) and compliance at 60 days (HR: 0.428, 95% CI: 0.189-0.972) were independently associated with colic complaints-free survival.

Conclusions:

In patients with medical history of renal lithiasis, monitoring of pH in combination with dietary supplements may be useful in maintaining nonlithogenic pH values, yielding very high ratios of success, especially in compliant patients.

Besides this main outcome, a reduction in self-reported colic complaints associated with pH balance was also observed.

What is Lit-Control pH meter?

The Lit-Control® pH Meter is a device that allows patients to self-monitor urinary pH levels and can be used in conjunction with one of the Lit-Control supplement products which may help control urological pathologies.

Patients will be able to activate their pH Meter on premierwellbeing.ie and a history of their pH readings will be stored and available for them to view and export.

Determining urinary pH levels Lit-Control pH Meter precisely determines whether urine is outside the preventive pH range of 5.5 – 6.2, and facilitates adequate therapeutic recommendation: acidify or alkalinise urinary pH.

The European Guidelines on Urolithiasis (Türk C, et al., 2016) underscore the need for precise determination of urinary pH in order to adopt the adequate measures for avoiding the recurrence of renal calculi.

Speak to our Premier Wellbeing Customer Care Team. For questions or further information relating to the Lit-Control range, please contact the Premier Wellbeing Customer Care Team by emailing [email protected] or calling +353 (0)61 550 124 between 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

[email protected]

+353 (0)61 550 124