Los Angeles, California, July 27, 2007– The results of a clinical trial investigating the effects of Jarrow Formulas® silicon supplement BioSil™, which contains a choline-stabilized and concentrated form of orthosilicic acid, ch-OSA™, on hair thickness, strength and elasticity, was presented by University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy Professor R. Randall Wickett at the Fifth International Congress of Hair Research held in Vancouver Canada on June 13-16, 2007.
An international research team conducted a 9-month, randomized, double-blind placebo controlled study using 48 healthy Caucasian women with fine hair and an average age of 43.3 years. Half the women supplemented their regular diet with 10 mg of silicon in the form of choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid, while the other half received a placebo. The BioSil™ group experienced a significant improvement over the placebo group including:

- Increased cross sectional area of hair fibers: 7.8 percent increase average (twice the placebo group)
- Increased diameter of hair fibers: 3.8 percent increase average (1.7 percent for the placebo group).
- Hair tensile strength and elasticity decreased significantly in the placebo group (- 10.8 %) whereas in the BioSil™ group no significant change was observed.

“This is a rigorously controlled study demonstrating that the oral intake of a dietary supplement may improve hair quality,” says Randy Wickett, Ph.D, Professor and Director of the Cosmetic Science Program at the University of Cincinnati. “Hair tensile properties such as strength and elasticity may degrade over time because of exposure to sunlight or other factors. In this study the intake of choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid increased the diameter of the hair and reduced the loss of elasticity and tensile strength compared to placebo.”

BioSil™ (US patent 5,922,360) contains a choline-stabilized and concentrated form of orthosilicic acid, ch-OSA™ and is manufactured by Bio Minerals n.v. in Destelbergen, Belgium. The observed improvement in hair expands upon prior clinical research showing beneficial effects on human hair from orally consuming BioSil. Previously, a significant reduction of hair brittleness was observed in a 20-week study titled “Effect of oral intake of choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid on skin, hair and nails in women with photodamaged skin” published in Archives of Dermatological Research (2005) 297: 147-153.

Jarrow Formulas, Inc. is a nutritional supplement formulator and marketer founded in 1977 and incorporated in 1988. The company markets its products throughout the United States and internationally in more than 20 countries in Europe, Asia, Israel and Latin America. The company offers a complete line of nutritional products that includes vitamins, minerals, probiotics, standardized herbal concentrates, amino acids, enzymes and enteral nutrition formulations. Jarrow Formulas, Inc. is active in regulatory affairs, helping to maintain American’s rights to free access to dietary supplements. Its products are manufactured by Jarrow Industries Incorporated, a pharmaceutical quality facility located in Santa Fe Springs, CA. For more information, contact Mark Becker, Director, Advertising/Communications toll free at (800) 726-0886 or access the Jarrow Formulas Web site at www.Jarrow.com.
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