On this page, you will find the most important terms and formulas describing the active principle of our products. In short: We combine so-called signal proteins (=activation signals) with the appropriate "auxiliary substances" (=building blocks) for the respective cell metabolism and ensure optimized availability in the relevant cellular target areas to specifically support cellular processes in cartilage, bone, and connective tissue, as well as during stress and regeneration.

 

Anabolic/Catabolic Balance

The anabolic-catabolic balance describes the relationship between building and breaking down processes in metabolism. Both sides are necessary; the crucial thing is that they alternate meaningfully depending on the situation and maintain overall balance.

 

Cell Renewal

Actual renewal primarily occurs during anabolic (building) phases when new cell components are built and damaged structures are repaired. Catabolic processes provide energy and building blocks for this by, among other things, supplying nutrients, e.g., through the breakdown of existing cells.

 

Stress & Strain 

After strain (e.g., sport, physical exertion) or stress, the catabolic component can increase; thereafter, recovery, sufficient sleep, energy, nutrients, and signal proteins are important, as they promote the regenerative side of metabolism so that cell renewal can proceed well.

 

Trigger Sequences = Signaling Agents = Signal Proteins

Cells do not renew automatically; they do not have a specific date "programmed" like a best-before date. Instead, they need an initial impulse. These (biochemical) signals are called signal proteins or signal peptides. The role of these proteins is essentially to provide the start signal for cell renewal.

 

In-vitro / In-vivo

In vitro means: in the laboratory, outside a living organism, for example, in a cell culture or a petri dish. In vivo means: in the living organism itself, in our context: in the mammalian body (animal and/or human). The difference: In vitro, individual cells, tissues, or components are studied under highly controlled conditions, usually in a laboratory.

In vivo, one observes how something works in the entire living system, meaning with metabolism, immune system, and all interactions.

Results from in vitro are often easier to measure but cannot always be directly translated 1:1 to the living body. 

Classic example: For survival – for metabolism, the cell needs energy (e.g., from carbohydrates) and nutrients – "auxiliary substances" (in the case of a cartilage cell, among others, glucosamine and chondroitin) and signal proteins as a "trigger" for the catabolic and anabolic processes. In the petri dish, all these components are directly "administered" via a pipette. 

When these different components are administered to a mammal or if the mammal ingests them, they are first "digested": Proteins, including signal proteins, are "broken down" by stomach acid into individual amino acids, which are then absorbed and subsequently "metabolized" (used, consumed). Part of this metabolic process is the "assembly" = the (re-)synthesis of amino acids into signal proteins. 

As long as, for example, in a young and healthy body, signal proteins are produced in sufficient quantities, the balance of catabolic and anabolic cell metabolic processes is maintained. If not all cells receive the signal for renewal, if the "on switch" is not activated because not enough signal proteins are produced by the body itself, then, for example, only 99 out of 100 cells receive the signal for renewal. The 1 cell that does not receive a signal does not regenerate, becomes "old," and, for example, in the case of a cartilage cell, can no longer adequately withstand mechanical stress, dies off, and is lost. The degenerative process thus manifests as signs of wear and tear.

Important: All components that the cell in the petri dish received "directly" for regeneration can be consumed = eaten, and in sufficient quantities, such as collagen hydrolysate (= amino acids bound together), protein in the form of milk, cheese, pea protein (if one eats vegan). In these, among other things, certain amino acids are also cross-linked in such a way that specific signal proteins can be present. BUT through digestion – see above – proteins must first be "broken down" into individual amino acids before they can be absorbed. Similarly, carbohydrates, if they are complex sugars, are "broken down" into "single sugars," because only these can be absorbed.

The petri dish lacks digestion or the part of the metabolic process that forms the signal proteins.

Therefore, the petri dish = in vitro, can help develop certain hypotheses, but the actual validation = confirmation can only occur in the (mammalian) body = in vivo.

 

Aggrecan & Collagen

Aggrecan and collagen are two central building blocks of cartilage. 

Aggrecan is a proteoglycan that forms large hyaluronic acid complexes and gives cartilage its pressure-elastic properties. Type II collagen forms the fibrillar framework of the extracellular matrix and mechanically stabilizes the tissue. Together, both play an important role in ensuring that cartilage can withstand both compressive and tensile stress.

 

gelenkfein® (patented formula)
Specifically supports processes important for healthy cartilage cells and cartilage quality in the joint.

 

knochenstahl® (protected formula)
Supports bone-related cell processes and contributes to the stability and resilience of the skeletal system.

 

SmartCarer® (IP Formula)
3 patents in 1 product with the goal of: regenerating cartilage, bone, and connective tissue, as well as strengthening the mucosa (intestinal lining).

 

oxyBOOOST® (IP Formula)
Contains, among other things, a plant extract that intervenes in nitrogen metabolism and ensures that oxygen saturation = VO2max can be improved.

 

Nutrigenomics and Nutrigenetics

are relatively new scientific fields of research. They sound similar but do not mean exactly the same thing. 

The main difference is: Nutrigenomics investigates how nutrients influence metabolic activity in mammals (e.g., humans, cats, dogs, horses, camels, etc.). 

Very important: the goal is not to change the inherent genome, but to answer the question of how certain metabolic processes can be initiated = triggered by food (by which food components). 

In other words: The (mammalian) body is like a machine in which various processes (metabolic processes) occur. And for each of these processes, there is an on and off switch to start or stop the process. And the question is: which food components can activate or regulate a specific switch?

Nutrigenetics examines how genetic differences alter the response to nutrition or how an individual's body absorbs, processes, and utilizes nutrients.

If a nutrient switches certain metabolic processes on or off, that is nutrigenomics; if a genetic variant determines whether someone tolerates a food or nutrient differently, that is nutrigenetics.