The Zota Healthcare Ltd, a pharma manufacturing, marketing and exports firm based in Surat, Gujarat, is planning to launch an anti-oxidant targeting liver psoriasis caused by alcoholism within a couple of months. The company claims that this is the first of its kind product available to address alcoholism in India.
The product, a combination of two amino acids – taurine and racemethionine, is to be promoted as a food supplement in the initial stage though the company is also planning to conduct clinical trials on limited volunteers to collect scientific details for its future operations. The company will also initiate studies on the effect of the combination as a supplement for treatment of heart and skin disease in a later stage, informs Ketan C Zota, managing director, Zota Healthcare.
“The is for the first time such a product is made available for alcoholism in India. Application for patent for the product is already published and we expect to receive the patent soon. Our estimation is that the product has the potential to reach Rs 100 cr in sales in next few years and we are equipping our sales force to meet the set target,” said Zota.
Taurine, a sulphur-containing amino acid mostly found in free form in the tissues and bloodstream, has been identified as useful in treating people with alcohol dependency. In people undergoing alcohol withdrawal, taurine given at one gram three times per day for seven days resulted in significantly fewer psychotic episodes when compared to people who were taking a placebo, according to studies.
Taurine is a detoxifying agent with antioxidant action that helps protect liver cells against various toxins. It is observed that taurine inhibits the depletion of glutathione and prevents oxidative DNA damage. The combination of taurine with racemethionine will have a synergistic actions, as both are hepatoprotective antioxidants, explains Dr Sanjay Agrawal, the scientist who developed the combination.
Racemethionine is an important sulphur containing amino acid with multiple functions throughout the body. Its role as an antioxidant and hepatoprotector has been widely documented. It protects hepatocytes and enhances their regeneration thus improving liver function. Further, it acts as important sulphur and methyl group donor in detoxification reactions in liver cells. Both taurine and racemethionine are important for normal functioning of liver. During deficiency of taurine body converts methionine to taurine via cysteine, he added.