Does Cardiol have any contraindications?

Dear Pietro,

Cardiol is contraindicated in case of known hypersensitivity to any of its components.

The formulation contains monacolin K: therefore, the use of Cardiol is not recommended during statin treatment. For full disclosure, I report a warning contained in the leaflet: “In the presence of cardiovascular diseases and/or hypertension, consult your doctor before taking the product”.

This is a mandatory statement according to the Ministry of Health regulations for all supplements containing an extract of Citrus aurantium L. The Citrus aurantium L. extract may contain synephrine, a substance with cardiotonic activity. What we use in Cardiol is a purified extract of the fruit (not the peel, which is notoriously rich in synephrine) standardized in bioflavonoids (tangeretin and nobiletin), known for their lipid-lowering properties.

Synephrine can cause increases in blood pressure at doses around 30 milligrams: in Cardiol it is present in trace amounts of 0.015 milligrams. Considering this negligible synephrine content and the fact that the Citrus extract is purified, we believe the warning regarding patients with heart disease can be disregarded.

According to recent studies (Synephrine content of juice from Satsuma m... [J Agric Food Chem. 2008] - PubMed - NCBI), the synephrine content in 200 centiliters of orange juice is about 3 milligrams. The recommended dose of Cardiol is 1 softgel per day, to be taken in the evening before dinner. One package is sufficient for one month of treatment.

I remain available for any further questions.

Best regards,

Dott.ssa Rosaria Ramondino Pharmacist and Pharmaceutical Chemist