| All prices are in Canadian dollars | |
|---|---|
| Limited special offer: | $64.95/bottle |
| 5 to 9 bottles: | $62.95/bottle |
| 10 or more bottles: | $59.95/bottle |
| Free shipping for 5 bottles or more | |
Comparing AHCC with Biobran MGN-3
AHCC (Active Hexose Correlated Compound) was a predecessor product to Biobran MGN-3.
Both were developed by Hiroaki Maeda in Japan, and the original research on AHCC was done by Maeda and Dr. Ghoneum, before both moved on to develop a new generation hemicellulous product Biobran MGN-3.
As AHCC was developed by a different company to Biobran MGN-3, it was not replaced by the new generation product, but continues to be sold as an immune supplement in its own right.
The following research comparisons were conducted in by Dr. M. Ghoneum at Drew University in the United States to try to stem some of this misinformation:
Test 1: Activity test using human NK cells in vitro
Increases in NK activity are measured in vitro by reacting both low concentrations (25µg/ml) and high concentrations (100µg/ml) of Biobran MGN-3 and AHCC with low immunity NK cells. The results show that Biobran MGN-3 has a high activity than AHCC. Even Biobran MGN-3 of low concentration (25µg/ml) showed a higher activity than AHCC of high concentration (100µg/ml).
Test 2: Activity test using rat NK cells in vitro
This test was the same as the first one except that it used rat NK cells which had had their immunity substantially lowered. Again, the tests were done at both low concentrations (25µg/ml) and high concentrations (100µg/ml) of Biobran MGN-3 and AHCC. The result showed that Biobran MGN-3 had as much as 7 times the activity of AHCC at the low concentrations and 3.5 times the activity at high concentrations. Again, even the Biobran MGN-3 activity at low concentrations was 3 times higher than that of AHCC at high concentrations.
Test 3: Activity drop-off of human NK cells in vivo
The basic protocol of this test was the same as the first one, except that this time the activity of the Biobran MGN-3 and AHCC was measured over a period of 4 weeks. During the first two weeks, the subjects were taking 2g/day of either the Biobran MGN-3 or the AHCC. After this point, for the remaining two weeks of the study, all intake was stopped, although NK activity was still measured. In this test, the results below show that Biobran MGN-3 not only boosts NK activity 3.5 times more than the AHCC during intake, but that enhanced NK activity is retained significantly more after intake is stopped. (Indeed, for AHCC, NK activity was indistinguishable from that of the control after only a two week period after stopping intake.)
Conclusion: Biobran MGN-3 is significantly more effective than its predecessor, AHCC. And due to the nature of immune system modulation with these products, taking extra AHCC, because of its cheaper price, will not make up the difference.
More details can be found here.