Fulvic acid

Description

Fulvic acid is an organic compound that is extracted from lignite seams from the Paleogene period – around 40-50 million years ago. A time when the climate was similar across the globe and when mammals became the dominant group. This remarkable dietary supplement is derived from plant matter that has decomposed – humification. Among other things, this process produced fulvic acid – a wonderful nutraceutical, one of the most chemically active compounds in nature.

In nature, this compound is responsible for extracting minerals, trace elements and nutrients from the soil and then delivering them directly to plant cells. This happens because it is a great chelator – that is, a substance whose molecular structure makes it possible, so to speak, to grab ions of other elements in a tick and transport them (no exaggeration here – that’s what the chelation process is called in chemistry – amazing, right?).

So, tens of millions of years ago, fulvic acid caught minerals, trace elements and other nutrients, and today we can consume them for ourselves. Not bad, right? A nutritious drink from 40 million years ago – how does that sound?

For us, fulvic acid has the following functions:

• Chelator – it is able to incorporate nutrients into its structure and convert them into a form that is more assimilable by human cells.
• Detoxifier – this property is also due to chelation, but this time it is related to the removal of harmful substances and heavy metals from the body.
• Antioxidant – acts as a scavenger of free radicals such as superoxide (O2-), hypochlorous acid (HOCI), hydrogen peroxide (H202), hydroxyl radicals (OH), peroxynitrite (ONOO-), or singlet oxygen radicals (102).
• Immunomodulator – in addition to its anti-inflammatory properties, it also has the ability to indirectly control T cells, an excess of which leads to the development of autoimmune diseases.
• Natural electrolyte – contains a range of minerals and excels at transporting them.
• Bioactive oxygen carrier – has the highest oxygen content of all humic substances. 45% of its molecule is oxygen, which is highly bioactive for the human body.
• Provides phytochemicals – plant-derived compounds with a broad spectrum of action: it exhibits anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anticancer properties.

And what does fulvic acid deal with? – We are, of course, talking about prevention:

• Fungi – it has the right biological properties to become a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent. Also effective against biofilms, which we know have quite effective defence mechanisms against antibiotics and antifungal substances [New strategic insights into managing fungal biofilms. Elisa Borghi. 2015].
• Bacteria – a number of studies and research confirm its strong antibiotic properties. Unlike antibiotics, it does not lead to resistant strains of disease. In addition, fulvic acid has not been found to have an adverse effect on intestinal flora, as is the case with some pharmaceuticals.Its regular intake, together with a healthy lifestyle, can reduce the risk of contracting colds and flu, as well as improving negative allergy symptoms. [Antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of natural organic matter extracted from cretaceous shales in district Nowshera – Pakistan. Fazli Khuda. 2022, Fulvic acid – a small but powerful natural substance for agricultural and medical applications. Didiek Hadjar. 2021, Phytochemical analysis, antibacterial, antifungal and antinflammatory activity of humic acid. Nivetha M. 2019]
• Virus – humic substances inhibit viral cytopathicity (morphological and degenerative changes occurring in cells under the influence of viral replication). These substances attach to the virus envelope protein, thereby coating its receptor sites. This further prevents the virus from binding to and infecting host cells, thus combating viral replication. Pathogens for which humic acids have been shown to be effective include Coxsackie A9 virus, herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, HIV, influenza types A and B (COVID-19 studies are also underway), cytomegalovirus (CMV) and cowpox virus, as well as viruses of certain respiratory infections [Humic substances as an environmentally- friendly organic waste potentially. Mohamed Hafez. 2020, Humic substances: Prospects for use in agriculture and medicine. Priya Goel. In Humic Substances by Abdelhadi Makan. 2021]
• Skin and hair – fulvic acid has been shown to positively increase cell viability by more than 26% and also significantly (in some cases by more than 50%) inhibit collagen breakdown. Thus, the study suggests an anti-ageing effect of fulvic acid. [Effect of fulvic acid on ultraviolet induced skin aging: The effect of fulvic acid on fibroblasts and matrix metalloproteinase. Kinoshita, H. 2012]
• Thyroid – Treatment of patients with a thyroid tumour with fulvic acid has yielded positive results. In a sample of 10 patients under 40 years of age, in 8 cases the tumour disappeared without recurrence. [Shenyi He, et al; Humic acid in Jiangxi Province, 1 (1982). In: Application of Fulvic acid and its derivatives in the fields of agriculture and medicine; Chapter 34; First Edition: June 1993 (https://www.purefulvicminerals.com/wp-content/uploads/fulvicacidii-1.pdf), About Humic – Fulvic substances II]. Also in hens exposed to lead poisoning, the levels of lead and TSH (a hormone produced by the thyroid gland) were adequately normalised by dietary supplementation with humic acids. As a result, the degenerative changes observed in the thyroid gland resolved. These results suggest that humic acids bind to heavy metals and play a role in restoring thyroid structure and function. [The Effect of Humic Acid Substances on the Thyroid Function and Structure in Lead Poisoning. A. Sahin. 2016]
• Cancer – Humic substances have known anticancer potential, including proven antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antimutagenic and heavy metal chelating properties. These characteristics predestine fulvic acid in terms of supporting the treatment and, above all, the prevention of cancer. Numerous clinical studies have shown that humic substances, especially fulvic acids, have protective potential against cancer and related carcinogenic viruses. Humic extracts destroy cancer cells and also inhibit their proliferation. Special therapies with humic substances have shown promising results in reversing deadly cancers and tumours.
• Alzhaimer – fulvic acid has nootropic properties. A nootropic is a substance that can help to increase measures of intelligence and cognitive abilities, such as working memory and the ability to learn and retain information. One study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in 2011 showed that fulvic acid has these properties – it can improve and protect against cognitive impairments, such as those that are symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The underlying cause of Alzheimer’s disease results in the blocking of connections of other neurons. This ultimately leads to memory loss, which is caused by the entanglement of proteins inside nerve cells (protein aggregation). Fulvic acid helps to untangle these tangles by, among other things, shortening their length – it can therefore provide improvements in cognitive function and prevent the early onset of debilitating brain disorders.
• Inflammation – Fulvic acid has a direct and indirect effect, both on processes in the gastrointestinal tract and on its individual structures. For most diseases, inflammatory processes are the catalyst for their onset. As a result of a number of studies, it has been suggested that fulvic acid improves intestinal bacterial flora, enhances nutrient absorption, has an inhibitory effect on intestinal-related diseases, including an anti-ulcer effect.
• Atherosclerosis – Fulvic acid inhibits the mechanism of atherosclerotic plaque formation narrowing the diameter of arteries due to inhibition of inflammatory processes [Fulvic acid attenuates homocysteine-induced cyclooxygenase-2 expression in human monocytes. Shao-Ju Chien. 2015]
• Diabetes