Disease relevance of alpha-Picolinic acid

• Chronic renal failure after ingestion of over-the-counter chromium picolinate [1].
• Nutritional supplement chromium picolinate causes sterility and lethal mutations in Drosophila melanogaster [2].
• Chromium picolinate supplementation attenuates body weight gain and increases insulin sensitivity in subjects with type 2 diabetes [3].
• Low-molecular-weight organic chromium complexes such as chromium picolinate are often used as dietary supplements to improve insulin sensitivity and to correct dyslipidemia [4].
• We conclude that high levels of chromium picolinate supplementation are contraindicated for weight loss in young, obese women [5].

Psychiatry related information on alpha-Picolinic acid

• Studies have implicated the toxicity of chromium picolinate in renal impairment, skin blisters and pustules, anemia, hemolysis, tissue edema, liver dysfunction; neuronal cell injury, impaired cognitive, perceptual and motor activity; enhanced production of hydroxyl radicals, chromosomal aberration, depletion of antioxidant enzymes, and DNA damage [6].

High impact information on alpha-Picolinic acid

• Chromium picolinate was found to produce chromosome damage 3-fold to 18-fold above control levels for soluble doses of 0.050, 0.10, 0.50, and 1.0 mM after 24 h treatment [7].
• Chromium picolinate enhances skeletal muscle cellular insulin signaling in vivo in obese, insulin-resistant JCR:LA-cp rats [8].
• Oral chromium picolinate improves carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and enhances skeletal muscle Glut-4 translocation in obese, hyperinsulinemic (JCR-LA corpulent) rats [9].
• The binding of trivalent chromium to low-molecular-weight chromium-binding substance (LMWCr) and the transfer of chromium from transferrin and chromium picolinate to LMWCr [10].
• Chromium picolinate modulates rat vascular smooth muscle cell intracellular calcium metabolism [11].

Chemical compound and disease context of alpha-Picolinic acid

• The effect of 12 weeks of resistance training (RT) with or without chromium picolinate (Cr-pic) supplementation on glucose tolerance was assessed in moderately overweight older men and women (age, 62 +/- 4 years; body mass index [BMI], 29.1 +/- 2.5 kg/m2) [12].
• Chromium picolinate is one of the most commonly used chromium dietary supplements available in the United States, and it has been marketed to consumers for use in weight loss, increasing muscle mass, and lowering serum cholesterol [13].
• Mean body weight, daily insulin dosage, daily caloric intake, 10-hour mean blood glucose concentration, blood glycated hemoglobin concentration, and serum fructosamine concentration were not markedly different when dogs were treated with insulin and chromium picolinate, compared with insulin alone [14].
• The effect of chromium picolinate and biotin supplementation on glycemic control in poorly controlled patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a placebo-controlled, double-blinded, randomized trial [15].
• They consider the data on feverfew and butterbur for migraines and on chromium picolinate and the combination of ephedrine and caffeine for obesity [16].

Biological context of alpha-Picolinic acid

• Chromium picolinate effects on body composition and muscular performance in wrestlers [17].
• The agency concluded that the relationship between chromium picolinate intake and insulin resistance is highly uncertain [18].
• The potential value and toxicity of chromium picolinate as a nutritional supplement, weight loss agent and muscle development agent [19].
• Chromium picolinate positively influences the glucose transporter system via affecting cholesterol homeostasis in adipocytes cultured under hyperglycemic diabetic conditions [20].
• Chromium picolinate increases membrane fluidity and rate of insulin internalization [21].

Anatomical context of alpha-Picolinic acid

• A recent study in our laboratory shows that exposure of 3T3-L1 adipocytes to chromium picolinate (CrPic, 10nM) induces a loss of plasma membrane cholesterol [20].
• Chromium picolinate does not produce chromosome damage in CHO cells [22].
• Similarly in C2C12 myoblasts, chromium picolinate alone did not produce any effect, however, it significantly increased insulin-induced transport of 14C-glucose [23].
• The studies also showed that the chromium picolinate complex was stable in artificial gastric juice for 4 hours [24].
• A report that chromium picolinate can induce the plasmalemmal Ca2+-ATPase in smooth muscle cells, raises the possibility that modulation of calcium transport might play a role in the insulin-sensitizing efficacy of bioactive chromium [25].

Associations of alpha-Picolinic acid with other chemical compounds

• Thirty-four sows (parity=1.8; BW=206 kg) were used to determine the influence of L-carnitine and/or chromium tripicolinate on plasma leptin concentrations of gestating sows fed one meal daily [26].
• Chromium picolinate/ biotin supplementation may represent an effective adjunctive nutritional therapy to people with poorly controlled diabetes with the potential for improving lipid metabolism [15].
• Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrates that supplementation with a combination of chromium picolinate and biotin in poorly controlled patients with diabetes receiving antidiabetic therapy improved glucose management and several lipid measurements [15].
• Comparative induction of oxidative stress in cultured J774A.1 macrophage cells by chromium picolinate and chromium nicotinate [27].
• Supplementation with chromium picolinate recovers renal Cr concentration and improves carbohydrate metabolism and renal function in type 2 diabetic mice [28].

Gene context of alpha-Picolinic acid

• In a recent study, Chinese subjects with NIDDM were divided into three groups of 60 subjects and supplemented with placebo, 100 or 500 micrograms of Cr as chromium picolinate 2 times per day for 4 months [29].
• OBJECTIVE: To describe a case of toxicity secondary to chronic ingestion of 6-12 times the recommended daily allowance of over-the-counter (OTC) chromium picolinate [30].
• The concentration of apolipoprotein A-I, the principal protein of the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) fraction, increased substantially during treatment with chromium picolinate [31].
• It is therefore intriguing to note that supplemental chromium picolinate has been reported to have a rapid and substantial favorable impact on glycemic control in patients with corticosteroid-induced diabetes [32].
• High-dose biotin, an inducer of glucokinase expression, may synergize with chromium picolinate to enable a definitive nutritional therapy for type II diabetes [33].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of alpha-Picolinic acid

• RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In this 6-month double-blind study, patients with an HbA(1c) (A1C) >8% and insulin requirements of >50 units/day were randomly assigned to receive treatment with placebo or 500 or 1,000 mug chromium daily in the form of chromium picolinate [34].
• Ultrastructural damage in chromium picolinate-treated cells: a TEM study. Transmission electron microscopy [35].
• Chromium picolinate for reducing body weight: meta-analysis of randomized trials [36].
• Chromium picolinate continues to fall squarely within the scope of "alternative medicine," with both unproven benefits and unknown risks [37].
• This study investigated the effects of chromium picolinate on elderly diabetic patients within a rehabilitation program [38].

References