Note On AL 721 Technical Controversy

Many U.S. physicians and scientists believe that AL 721 could not work, because it would be digested and not have any
effect except as a nutrient. Shortly before going to press we found published information bearing on this question. We could
not reach Shinitzky for his comments, however.
In the laboratory, according to Shinitzky's published papers, AL 721 forms "chylomicron-like" assemblies, visible
under an electron microscope. These are believed to consist of a spherical core of "neutral lipids" (one of the ingredients of
AL 721) with a thin layer of phospholipids (the other two ingredients) around the surface. Most U.S. physicians who have
considered the matter have dismissed AL 721, saying that the chylomicrons would be broken up during digestion, and the
product would therefore be ineffective.
Recently we found a discussion of blood lipids in a standard medical reference work, The Pharmacological Basis of
Therapeutics (1985 edition, pages 827-829). It lists chylomicrons as one of six classes of blood lipids. It also lists the source of the neutral-lipid core of these
chylomicrons as dietary fats absorbed from the small intestines during digestion.
The chylomicrons this book referred to have the same neutral-lipid core, but different molecules on their surface
(not phospholipids as in AL 721). In both cases, however, the surface molecules have electrical charges which predispose them
to form chylomicron structures. And it is generally accepted that the phospholipids in AL 721 do enter the bloodstream in a
biologically active form; dozens of articles in medical journals describe trials using these food substances alone as
experimental treatments for a variety of conditions, with mixed results.
No one has studied the digestion and absorption of AL 721, therefore no one knows if chylomicrons of AL 721 are found in
the blood after oral use of the substance. The information cited above certainly suggests that they might be. As far as we know, those who have said that AL 721 could
not possibly work because it would be digested have never cited any facts or arguments to support their assertion. The hasty
dismissal of this potential treatment seems not to accord with available information, but to contradict it.