Ambrotose & Controversy

Ambrotose is a  brand name of a mixture that contain Glyconutrients which infact sugars obtained from certain plants. It is claimed to have health improving and cancer curing capabilities. It is manufactured and marketed by Mannatech, Inc. a trading company at Coppel, Texas. It is relevant here to quote the gist of what the Company claimed in the website:

That Ambrotose is glyconutritional. That it contains plant saccharides, which supports immune system. These saccharides help body system to generate glycoforms, the essential structure for inter cellular communication.

To understand step-by-step rise of the company to claim Cancer cure treatment needs a little bit of elaboration. The Company’s upswing started in the network marketing with the development of Manapol® -claiming that the product supplies various sugars to the body which supports the immune system and inter-cellular communications. Subsequently, the Company marketed an improved version (as claimed) “Ambrostose Complex ®” which is blended variety of Manapol (a gel extracted from inner leaf of aloe vera gel plant, ghatti gum and tragacanth gum) and Arabinogalacton (Larix tree gum). The Company’s quest for developing their products lead to various product ranges including anti-oxidents product Ambrotose AO®.

But, several reports in the media claiming the efficacy of Glyconutrients in the treatment of Cancer is being questioned widely. Research Scientists are of the view that irrespective of the immune enhancing properties of Ambrotose® et al, there is no hard evidence to prove that orally taken Ambrotose® would be good for cancer patients. But, there are some evidence that aloe & polysaccharide derivatives may have beneficial effect in cancer treatment although the evidence still now is not that strong to say the least. All said and done, the tall claim of Mannatech’s product Ambrotose® with regard to treatment of cancer and its superiority over others in the field is more of a marketing strategy rather than having any scientific substantiation.