WHERE DOES DCI COME FROM?

D-chiroinositol is a  unique  naturally occurring compound, also known as DCI, which is processed from the Carob tree, (CeratoniaSiliqua) a well-known Mediterranean fruit. It belong to the group of the inositol, being one of the nine existing different isomers and considered the real effective isomer due to that the body makes D-chiro-Inositol from other inositols (for example, myo-Inositol).

Its chemical name is cis-1,2,3-trans-3,5,6-cyclohexanehexol

DCI is found in some foods and plants. The foods with the highest content of DCI are black wheat, soy-lecithin, carob and lentils. Following them, there are orange (being DCI more concentrated in the skin and pulp and less in the juice), peanuts and beef liver. Finally with a lower content we find buckwheat, oat and farinetta. These are the most common foods containing DCI but not the only ones.

We can get DCI from these foods, however it can be difficult to obtain all the DCI we need from our diet. People with a healthy metabolism are able to convert into DCI the inositol we ingest, unfortunately there are some people with difficulties in making this conversion, for instance, women affected by PCOS.

D-Chiro-Inositol is known to be an important secondary messenger in the insulin signal transduction. Its role is to tell the cells how to dispose sugar, whether to transform sugar into energy for using it or to storage it for later on. According to some scientific research, women suffering of PCOS have a deficiency of DCI so its function is not carried out properly, leading to undesirable consequences such as insulin resistance or high levels of testosterone (refer to our article “D-Chiro-Inositol – Its Functional Role in Insulin action“). DCI helps to alleviate some of the symptoms related to the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome like hyperandrogenism, anovulation or hyperinsulinemia.

Another use of DCI is in the cosmetic field. It works like a multi-action tanning compound, which activates the main melanogenesis pathway, intensifying and maintaining suntan longer, making it the perfect ingredient for tan accelerators or after-sun lotions.

Euronutra D-Chiro-Inositol is a unique product reaching at least 98% purity. The starting material for the production of Euronutra DCI is Euronutra D-Pinitol. It is isolated from carob pods by Euronutra’s proprietary separation technology. The carob pods used by Euronutra are sourced locally so we make sure we deliver the best of the Mediterranean products. Afterwards D-Pinitol is demethylated by either chemical methods, or, in the case of natural DCI, by an enzymatic process. Euronutra’s production processes ascertain highest purity and consistency quality.

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