Anemia is a medical condition associated with the lack of vitamin B12 and low red blood cell count. It is a condition that can be either subclinical or clinical which is way worse. Each person diagnosed with anemia/b12 deficiency is prescribed a custom treatment. Nowadays, there are all sorts of formulations designed to help people battle their anemia.
Here is an overview of salcaprozate sodium and how it compares to other formulations designed to treat B12 deficiency.
Formulation
Cyanocobalamin, which is the most popular form of vitamin B12 comes in all sorts of formulations such as nasal spray, sublingual, intramuscular injection, tablet form, and solution.
Cyanocobalamin/salcaprozate sodium is one of the newest tablet formulations on the market. Unlike other B12 supplements and medications, it features an absorption promoter that goes under the name salcaprozate sodium (SNAC). The thing with SNAC is that it acts as a chaperone for vitamin B12, taking it from the gastric lining to the bloodstream.
Thanks to that, Cyanocobalamin/salcaprozate sodium is classified as a medical food.
Because medical foods have been classified as food, are not subject to any drug regulation. Yet the FDA has its medical food standards that need to be met before the medical food can be cleared to be sold on the market. Furthermore, the medical food needs to have a label that is not misleading in any way. Prescription in some cases might be needed. Plus, all ingredients that are part of the medical food need to be acknowledged as safe to use.
So, bringing medical food to the market might not be as rigorous as bringing a new drug, but at the same time, it sure ain’t easy as introducing a dietary supplement on the market.
Cyanocobalamin/salcaprozate sodium efficiency
The goal of every formulation for treating vitamin B12 deficiency is to increase the B12 levels within the bloodstream. Patients that needed an immediate boost mainly depended on IM injections. A cyanocobalamin/salcaprozate sodium tablet can deliver a fast bioavailable response as efficiently as an injection. That’s just one pill of cyanocobalamin/salcaprozate sodium per day and vitamin B12 can be set within their normal levels.
In Conclusion
The thing with vitamin B12 deficiency is that it can be mild when discovered on time. If untreated, or late discovered, it can lead to anemia or even nerve damage. Therefore, the sooner is diagnosed and corrected the better.
As a result, some people will need to be treated with IV or IM injections which can be somewhat unpleasant and even painful. At least for a big group of people.
On the other hand, cyanocobalamin/salcaprozate sodium seems to get the same job done, normalizing B12 levels, via a single tablet taken daily. As mentioned earlier, that’s due to the absorption profile of cyanocobalamin/salcaprozate sodium. So far, cyanocobalamin/salcaprozate sodium has proven to be very effective with every patient that used it.
In comparison to IV or IM injections, it had the identical effect. Yet the fact that it is used orally makes it way more convenient for all users.
