Study suggests no risk from chromium picolinate

Related tags Chromium picolinate Nutrition Health

A peer-reviewed analysis of more than 60 studies assessing the
safety of chromium picolinate suggests that there is no risk to
human health from the product being used as a nutrient supplement
in food.

The weight loss supplement - which initially benefited from concerns over the safety of other products such as ephedra - was recently cited​ as potentially dangerous to humans, allegedly causing genetic mutation and sterility.

But a review of human, animal, and cellular studies conducted over the past 30 years - the largest of its kind ever carried out on chromium picolinate - suggests that these fears may be unfounded.

Published in the June 2004 issue of Food and Chemical Toxicology​, the review was conducted by senior toxicologists and food science experts at the ENVIRON Health Sciences Institute in the US and describes how chromium picolinate was determined to be a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) iingredient in nutritional bars and beverages.

The authors said that there was a significant body of evidence, compiled by scientists at leading academic institutions, as well as the USDA and the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Toxicology Program (NTP), to suggest that the product was entirely safe for human consumption.

"The collective research indicates that chromium picolinate is a safe nutritional supplement,"​ said study co-author Ronald S. Slesinski, president-elect of the Regulatory & Safety Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology and senior science manager at ENVIRON.

"The accepted safety trials, including Ames Tests and chromosome studies conducted by NTP and at independent testing laboratories, show no evidence of genetic toxicity."

The researchers reviewed questions raised about chromium picolinate's safety, including one particular study, which purported negative effects in fruit flies. "The significance of mutagenic effects in fruit flies has questionable relevance to humans,"​ said Dr Slesinski. "There are considerable differences between the physiology and metabolism of insects and mammals, and it is impossible to extrapolate dosage effects from insects to humans. Trivalent chromium has never been shown to be mutagenic in animals or to produce damage to genetic material (DNA) in humans when ingested, at any dose."

The review was commissioned by Nutrition 21, which manufactures Chromax chromium picolinate, a compound originally developed by the USDA. The authors evaluated the safety of chromium picolinate, as well as the Chromax product.Many of these same studies were used by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to develop a safety monograph on chromium picolinate, which was recently submitted to the FDA with guidelines on assessing the safety of dietary supplements. The prototype monograph on chromium picolinate found that chromium picolinate is safe, and that no further research is needed at this time.

"Ultimately, scientific conclusions should be based on the full body of data, and that is why Nutrition 21 commissioned this extensive literature review,"​ said Gail Montgomery, president & CEO. "We hope it resolves any questions about chromium picolinate's safety, so that researchers and health professionals can focus more on chromium picolinate's role in preventing and managing insulin-based conditions."

Chromium is an essential mineral that is critical to proper insulin function and metabolism. A number of clinical studies have shown that nutritional supplementation with chromium, in the form of chromium picolinate, helps improve insulin function and blood sugar control in people with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Related topics Research Suppliers

Related news

Follow us

Products

View more

Webinars