Actovegin is a highly filtered extract obtained from calf blood which enhances aerobic oxidation in mammals. This improves absorption of glucose and oxygen uptake in tissue, which may enhance physical performance and stamina.

Actovegin made headlines from 2009 to 2011 when Canadian sports doctor Anthony Galea

Anthony Galea

Anthony Galea is a Canadian sports medicine specialist. He is a team physician with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...

 was charged with illegally providing professional athletes with a number of performance-enhancing drugs

Performance-enhancing drugs

Performance-enhancing drugs are substances used by athletes to improve their performances in the sports in which they engage.- Types of performance-enhancing drugs :...

, including Actovegin.

Mechanism of action

According to Gulevsky, et al., Actovegin "is highly purified hemodialysate extracted from vealer blood by ultrafiltration." There are less than 5 kDa

Atomic mass unit

The unified atomic mass unit or dalton is a unit that is used for indicating mass on an atomic or molecular scale. It is defined as one twelfth of the rest mass of an unbound neutral atom of carbon-12 in its nuclear and electronic ground state, and has a value of...

 by molecular weight

Molecular mass

The molecular mass of a substance is the mass of one molecule of that substance, in unified atomic mass unit u...

 of organic substances in Actovegin.

Actovegin has been shown to improve the transport of glucose

Glucose

Glucose is a simple sugar and an important carbohydrate in biology. Cells use it as the primary source of energy and a metabolic intermediate...

 over a plasma membrane and the uptake of oxygen by tissues. This can lead to aerobic oxidation, which provides a cell with access to more energy and potentially enhances its function. Actovegin has large amounts of superoxide dismutase

Superoxide dismutase

Superoxide dismutases are a class of enzymes that catalyze the dismutation of superoxide into oxygen and hydrogen peroxide. As such, they are an important antioxidant defense in nearly all cells exposed to oxygen...

 enzymes and magnesium

Magnesium

Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...

.

Uses and side effects

Nycomed

Nycomed

Nycomed is a European pharmaceutical company. Nycomed is privately owned primarily by the two private equity investors Nordic Capital and CSFB Alternative Capital. Production is located in Norway, Denmark, Poland, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Estonia India, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Head office...

, a Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 drug company which manufactures Actovegin, claims it can be used for circulation and nutrition disturbances, skin grafting, burns, and wound-healing impairment. Actovegin has also been used as a performance enhancer.

It has been investigated for use in treatment of polyneuropathy

Polyneuropathy

Polyneuropathy is a neurological disorder that occurs when many peripheral nerves throughout the body malfunction simultaneously. It may be acute and appear without warning, or chronic and develop gradually over a longer period of time. Many polyneuropathies have both motor and sensory...

 in diabetes, and for stroke

Stroke

A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

. One study found that when tissues suffer from hypoxia

Hypoxia (medical)

Hypoxia, or hypoxiation, is a pathological condition in which the body as a whole or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply. Variations in arterial oxygen concentrations can be part of the normal physiology, for example, during strenuous physical exercise...

caused circulation abnormalities, Actovegin helps capillaries improve circulation by enhancing the neogenic mechanism in blood vessels.

Counterindications

Anaphylactic shock has been observed in at least one patient treated with Actovegin.

Market approvals

As of July 2011, the drug was not approved for sale, importation, or use in the United States. It is an unapproved drug in Canada as well, and as of March 2011 it was illegal to import or sell it there.