Femifert is a dietary supplement containing D-Chiro-inositol, Flaxseed dry extract (standardized to20% lignans), Ipomea Batatas, Lagerstroemia Speciosa (Banaba), Zinc gluconate, Vitamin B12, FolicAcid and Vitamin B6: these substances are useful to maintain the physiological balance in women of childbearing age in situations requiring a supply of these nutrients for a better control of fat and sugar metabolism as well as ovulation.
D-chiro-inositol is a molecule belonging to a family of related substances collectively referred to as inositol, even if this is a term including various isomers of different biological relevance.
This product is a natural compound extracted from carob pods.
It is known as an important secondary messenger in insulin signal transduction. Insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia are concomitant features of polycystic ovary syndrome - a disease characterized by chronic anovulation and hyperandrogenism affecting approximately 6% of women of childbearing potential - which is one of the main cause of female infertility.
In these women, hyperinsulinemia inhibits ovulation and stimulates the production of testosterone by the ovaries. These patients also exhibit an increased incidence of impaired glucose tolerance, type II diabetes or other characteristics of the metabolic syndrome. The released insulin mediators are subsequently internalized, thus affecting intracellular metabolic processes.
Although different species have been identified, a specific mediator named chiro-inositol glycan (inositol phosphoglycan containing D-chiro-inositol and galactosamine) is known to have a role in the activation of key enzymes controlling glucose oxidative and non-oxidative metabolism.
Therefore a deficiency in D-chiro-inositol and consequently in its mediator in the molecular form of D-chiro-inositol glycan may lead to insulin resistance.
Finally, D-chiro-inositol, thanks to its ability (tested in different studies) to increase significantly insulin sensitivity, induces beneficial effects on ovulation and ovarian production of androgens in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.
1. Tae-SikJung, Jong-RyealHahm, Jong-JinKim, Jung-HwaJung, Mi-Yeon Kang, Sung-Won Moon, Kang-Wan Lee,1 Ho-CheolKim, Jong-Deog Lee, Ji-
HyeKim, Deok-RyongKim, and Soon- Il Chung. Determination of Urinary Myo-/Chiro-Inositol Ratios from Korean Diabetes Patients. - YonseiMed J
Vol. 46, No. 4, 2005
2. John E.Nestler, M.D., Daniela J. Jakubowicz, M.D., Paula Reamer, M.A., Ronald D. Gunn, M.S., Geoffrey Allan, Ph.D.. Ovulatory and metabolic
effect of D-chiro-inositol in the polycystic ovary syndrome. The New England Journal of Medicine. April 29, 1999
3. Joseph Larner, David LBrautigan, Michael O Thorner. D-Chiro-Inositol Glycans in Insulin Signaling and Insulin Resistance. MolMed 16 (11-12) 543-
551, November-December 2010.
3. Iuorno MJ et al.2002 Effect of d-chiro-inositol in lean women with the polycystic ovary syndrome. Endocr Pract 8 417-423
4. Gerli S et al. 2003 Effects of inositol on ovarian function and metabolic factors in women with PCOS: a randomized double blind placebo
controlled trial. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 7 151-519
5. Baillargeon JP et al. 2006 Altered D-chiro-inositol urinary clearance in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Diabetes Care 29 300-305 DCI
6. Kai I. Cheang et al. 2008 Insulin-stimulated release of Dchiro- inositol–containing inositolphosphoglycan mediator correlates with insulin
sensitivity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Metabolism 57 1390-1397
7. Jean-Patrice Baillargeon et al.2008 Greek hyperinsulinemic women, with or without polycystic ovary syndrome, display altered inositols
metabolism. Human Reproduction 23 1439-1446
A tree native to the Southeast Asia, where it grows wild in the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and India. In the Philippines, where this tree is called Banaba, the traditional medicine uses Lagerstroemia speciosa leaves as a herbal drug due to its glucoselowering properties and against obesity.
The active substance possessing these glucose-lowering properties is corosolic acid, having an insulin-like mechanism of action, active also by oral route, favouring cellular uptake of glucose, so much as to give to corosolic acid the name of phyto-insulin. The use of choice of Banaba is the control of blood sugar levels, but it also proved beneficial for fighting obesity and overweight and counteracting emotional eating due to blood glucose fluctuations, as well as for improving the general lipid profile.
Native to South America, it came to the old continent thanks to Christopher Columbus; the batata contains many useful substances to our body, such as fibers, vitamins A and C (and, in smaller amounts, B and E), proteins, potassium, magnesium, iron and calcium. Ipomea batatas is also rich in flavonoids and anthocyanins and has a great antioxidant and anti-aging power. The American Association CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) in a ranking of the healthier plants, put the red batata first.
This tuber has obtained the highest score thanks to the high concentration of beneficial substances for our body not only in its inside but also and especially in the peel, where a substance with apparent beneficial effects on cholesterol and blood glucose reduction is found: the Cajapo. The statistics say that in the countries where the batata is more frequently consumed raw (some regions of Japan), there are fewer people with diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and anaemia.
It is a mineral important for the correct functioning of hormones and insulin in our body.
Zinc is important for the human body, as it is one of those enzyme complexes necessary for the proper
functioning of hormones, insulin, sex hormones and growth hormone.
The body normally contains from 1.4 to 2.5 grams of zinc, stored mostly in red and white blood cells
and in muscles.
Due to its properties, zinc is a fundamental element for a balanced body growth and for the control of metabolism and, consequently, of weight.
Zinc is also involved in the functioning of sight, touch, smell and memory: a zinc deficiency causes sensory and intellectual dysfunctions. In men, zinc is an important element for sperm production: a zinc deficiency may cause a decrease in the number of sperm in the semen.
essential for the synthesis of Dna and proteins and for the formation of haemoglobin and is particularly important for tissues which undergo proliferation and differentiation processes, such as embryo tissues. For this reason, in the last decades, folic acid has been recognized as essential in preventing some congenital malformations, particularly those affecting the neural tube.
Moreover, it is not excluded that it may have a role also in the prevention of other congenital defects and malformations, such as cleft lip and palate and some congenital heart defects. The recommended dose in the general population is 0.4 mg/day. However, in women the daily demand for folate increases during pregnancy and breastfeeding periods.
A woman of childbearing age who is planning to become pregnant or does not exclude a pregnancy
should, in fact, take an additional amount of 0.4 mg/day for at least 1 month before conception and
then through up to the third month of pregnancy (periconceptional period).Our body uses folic acid to produce new cells. Vitamin B9, through mechanisms which have not yet been clarified, is
Homocysteine and Folate Levels as Risk Factors for Recurrent Early Pregnancy Loss
NELEN, WILLIANNE L. D. M. MD; BLOM, HENK J.PhD; STEEGERS, ERIC A. P. PhD; DEN HEIJER, MARTIN PhD; THOMAS, CHRIS M. G. PhD; ESKES, TOM
K. A. B. PhD
Together with isoflavones and cumestans, lignans belong to the class of phytoestrogens. These substances are present in high amounts in sesame seeds and flaxseeds.
Lignans are recognized as having the capacity to prevent and counteract some types of cancer, to protect efficaciously men from prostate cancer and women from diseases related to oestrogen production, such as breast cancer, endometriosis, fibrocystic mastopathy (i.e. fibrocystic breast condition), uterine fibroids and menopause-related disturbances.
Phytoestrogens are essences contained in some plants which are able to normalize and restore the correct balance in the hormonal activities through a natural process.
These substances replace or activate hormones naturally.
Their assimilation does not determine a risk of excess hormone levels; they are safe and devoid of negative side effects, unlike synthetic phytoestrogens.
Phytoestrogens are contained naturally in plants and have an action similar to that of female hormones oestrogens.
Phytoestrogens are also called weak oestrogens because, despite having a chemical form similar to female hormones, they have a biological activity 1000 times lower when compared to oestrogens derived from human metabolism.
Phytoestrogens have two mechanisms of action: a hormone-like and a non–hormonal mechanism.
As a matter of fact, phytoestrogens bind to oestrogen receptors, that are the chemical elements from which cell processes regulated by these hormones are derived.
Phytoestrogens are able to behave as weak oestrogens, namely as agonists or anti-oestrogens, or as antagonists, according to the alpha or beta receptor model to which they are bound.
In addition, flaxseeds and LIGNANS represent the richest known source of an essential fatty acid belonging to the family of omega-3, the alpha-linolenic acid.
Essential fatty acids are necessary for the formation of cell membranes, the proper development and functioning of brain and nervous system and for the production of hormone-like substances called eicosanoids, that regulate positively inflammatory responses and immune system activity.
Some of these fats are in fact fundamental to fertility. “Good” fats are represented by unsaturated fats, which are found in fish, oils, nuts, flaxseeds and contain essential fatty acids that cannot be synthesized by the body and should be introduced with the diet.
It is however important to note that certain factors can depress the activity of enzymes responsible for desaturation of alpha-linolenic acid, thus adversely affecting this important conversion process: one of these factors is represented by some nutrient deficiencies such as Zinc and Copper deficiencies.
There may also be conversion problems for people with diabetes or other metabolic disorders and for those who inherit a limited ability to produce conversion enzymes.
In addition, infants convert alpha-linolenic acid to DHA and EPA more slowly than adults. Some studies have provided evidence that preterm infants do not have the capacity to produce sufficient DHA and this then results in impaired visual acuity and brain functioning.
It is necessary for DNA and RNA synthesis.
Vitamin B12, whose requirements increase remarkably during pregnancy, besides counteracting anxiety and psychological discomfort, has a role in the formation and regeneration of red blood cells and is essential particularly in vegetarian pregnant women who exclude all animal-derived food from their diet.
It is important for the formation of female sex hormones.
Besides alleviating nausea and vomiting that often affect pregnant women during the first trimester of pregnancy, vitamin B6 is recommended for women taking the birth-control pill, as it reduces irritability and mood swings related to its use. Moreover a recent study, published in the «American Journal of Epidemiology», evidenced the role of vitamin B6 in increasing the probabilities of conception and decreasing the risk of miscarriage. According to the experts, some coenzymes dependent on this vitamin participate in more than one hundred reactions involved in amino acid, lipid, nucleic acid and glycogen metabolism. The experts conclude that, for this reason, a vitamin B6
deficiency could impair these activities, thus affecting implantation and placental development.
Am J Epidemiol. 2007 Aug 1;166(3):304-12. Epub 2007 May2.
Preconception B-vitamin and homocysteine status, conception, and early pregnancy loss.
Ronnenberg AG1, Venners SA, Xu X, Chen C, Wang L, Guang W, Huang A, Wang X.
Coadjuvant in the treatment of:
• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
• Insulin-resistance and prediabetes
• Type II diabetes
• Coadjuvant for controlled ovarian hyperstimulation protocols.
It is recommended to take 1 capsule daily, according to medical instructions. A 6-month therapy is suggested for optimization of results. The product can be taken at any time during the day.
Do not exceed the recommended daily dose.Keep out of the reach of children under 3 years of age.For pregnant or breastfeeding women and children strictly follow the medical advice.Dietary supplements are not intended as substitutes for a varied and balanced diet and a healthylifestyle.Dispose of container properly after use.
Store in a cool and dry place, away from direct sunlight and heat sources.
Pack containing 20 capsules.
