TSI calls Hobamine, its new cellular health ingredient, a “breakthrough” that, unlike antioxidants, does not eradicate the free radicals needed for crucial physiological functioning and immune system defense

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Ingredient supplier TSI Group Ltd. (Missoula, MT) is calling Hobamine, its new cellular health ingredient, a “breakthrough.” Hobamine is a form of the naturally occurring compound 2-hydroxybenzylamine (2-HOBA). It supports cellular health by “mitigating the negative impact of damaging free radicals, thereby helping to keep the immune system in check.”

As an ingredient for healthy aging, Hobamine is unique because it addresses excessive free radical levels that can lead to oxidative stress, but it is not an antioxidant and works differently than typical antioxidants. Says the company’s website: “Hobamine is notably not an antioxidant because it allows our bodies to continue their normal processes like cell signaling and immune function while minimizing the adverse effects of oxidative stress.”

Antioxidants may not be ideal because they “avoid the development of oxidative stress altogether," the firm says. Antioxidants are typically taken in high amounts to eradicate reactive oxygen species (ROS). But, as TSI explains on its website, widespread eradication of ROS prevents the body from maintaining normal levels of ROS that are actually needed for cell signaling and immune system defense.

Instead of calling for people to consume high amounts of antioxidants, TSI proposes Hobamine as a “radical new approach to cellular health” because it preserves the levels of ROS needed for normal physiological functions and pathways while at the same time minimizing the adverse effects of oxidative stress.

Shawn Baier, MS, MBA, vice president of business development at TSI, stated in a press release, “The Hobamine story is about the villain versus the hero. The bad guy is what happens when everyday stress results in highly reactive free radical compounds. The hero, Hobamine, sweeps in to lock out the bad guys, creating a compound that is mere waste.”

TSI says that Hobamine is the only nutritional intervention so far known to address “the negative impact of oxidative stress but not the body’s normal, healthy processes.” It says: “It does this by ‘capturing’ isolevuglandins (IsoLGs), one of the common downstream products of oxidative stress.” IsoLGs, it notes, are associated with dysfunction in many types of cells.

At last November’s SupplySide West trade show, Baier explained, “IsoLGs stands for a group of very highly reactive products called isolevuglandins that immediately and selectively get elevated with any kind of modest and severe stress. They have been found to be significantly elevated in in several diseases and react with cell proteins and DNA to causing damage to the cells within seconds. They are considered one of the most reactive species identified to date.”

He added: “2-HOBA is a small-molecule scavenger of IsoLGs. It neutralizes IsoLGs before they have a chance to react with our DNA, proteins, and other delicate cellular components. As a result, it decreases inflammatory cytokine expression and increases anti-inflammatory cytokine expression, thereby helping to maintain a healthy immune system balance. 2-HOBA’s success owes much to the speed (over a thousand times greater affinity) with which it can sequester IsoLGs and prevent downstream modification of DNA and proteins. 2-HOBA represents a paradigm shift in the approach to reducing the impact of oxidative stress and IsoLGs in particular, principally because it doesn’t just mitigate the damaging effects of IsoLGs but does so without interfering or blunting fundamental physiological processes. Instead, 2-HOBA works downstream by trapping the reactive compounds formed during oxidative stress. Once these reactive compounds are sequestered, they cannot damage other cellular components (lipids, proteins, and DNA). Thus, many of the negative effects of ROS can be prevented without interfering with the important biological functions of ROS.”