Ampelopsin


Ampelopsin, also known as dihydromyricetin and DHM, when purported as an effective ingredient in supplements and other tonics, is a flavanonol, a type of flavonoid. It is found in the Ampelopsis species japonica, megalophylla, and grossedentata; Cercidiphyllum japonicum; Hovenia dulcis; Rhododendron cinnabarinum; some Pinus species; and some Cedrus species, as well as in Salix sachalinensis.
Hovenia dulcis has been used in traditional Japanese, Chinese, and Korean medicines to treat fever, parasitic infection, as a laxative, and a treatment of liver diseases, and as a hangover treatment. Methods have been developed to extract ampelopsin from it at large scales, and laboratory research has been conducted with the compound to see if it might be useful as a drug in any of the conditions for which the parent plant has been traditionally used.
Scientific peer-reviewed research
In a trial of 60 patients with "nonalcoholic fatty liver disease," dihydromyricetin improved glucose and lipid metabolism and yielded potentially beneficial anti-inflammatory effects.
In a study wherein the subjects were rats, researchers demonstrated "pharmacological properties of dihydromyricetin consistent with those expected to underlie successful medical treatment of alcohol use disorders; therefore dihydromyricetin is a therapeutic candidate."
"Structurally, due to the highly hydrophilic character, dihydromyricetin shows poor bioavailability and significantly limits its potential medicinal applications." "In pharmacology, bioavailability is a subcategory of absorption and is the fraction of an administered drug that reaches the systemic circulation."
As they pertain to dihydromyricetin, additional research is required before claims of human efficacy and application, necessary dosage, and solutions to poor bioavailability, are met with scientific validation.