What Is Vitamin D3?
Vitamin D3, also known as Cholecalciferol or VD3, is a white powder soluble in lipids or fat but insoluble in water.
According to one experiment, when a VD3 solution is heated at 130 degrees for 90 minutes, its physiological activity remains undamaged. Still, it gradually decomposes under acidic conditions, so we can see it is very stable.
We said it once, and we will say it again: unlike Vitamin D2, almost 99.5% of the Vitamin D3 products you see in the market are of animal origin. And the authentic vegan VD3 is extremely rare.
Pure Vitamin D3 powder can withstand high temperatures and oxidation in neutral and alkaline solutions.
It works by promoting the absorption and deposition of calcium and phosphorus in the intestine, improving bone health.
What Is Vitamin D3 Used For Mainly?
Vitamin D3 promotes the absorption of calcium and phosphorus in the small intestinal conjunctiva and renal tubules, supporting bone metabolism and maintaining the balance of blood calcium and blood phosphorus; as a result, it enhances bone mineralization and increases muscle strength and balance.
It is the most widely used nutritional supplement for bone growth issues.
It is administered by mouth as softgels or chewable gummies.
In serious conditions, people may need VD3 injections to treat certain diseases.
#1. Indications as a pharmaceutical ingredient:
#1.1 Prevention and treatment of vitamin D deficiency
#1.2 Treatment of Chronic hypocalcemia, hypophosphatemia, rickets, and osteochondrosis with chronic renal insufficiency, familial hypophosphatemia.
#1.3 Treatment of hypoparathyroidism (postoperative, idiopathic, or pseudohypoparathyroidism)
#1.4 Treatment of acute, chronic, and potentially post-surgical tardive dyskinesia and idiopathic tardive dyskinesia. Prevention and treatment of postmenopausal and senile osteoporosis.
Vitamin D3 is famous for its role in strengthening your bones, together with Vitamin K2.
#2. As a nutritional supplement, VD3 has the following physiological functions:
#2.1 To improve absorption of calcium and phosphorus in your body, so that the level of plasma calcium and plasma phosphorus reaches saturation.
#2.2 To promote growth and bone calcification in your body so that you can have healthy teeth.
#2.3 To increase phosphorus absorption through the intestinal wall, and increase phosphorus reabsorption through the renal tubules.
#2.4 To maintain citrate levels in your blood.
#2.5 To prevent the loss of amino acids through the kidney.
#3. Off-label uses
Many international in-depth studies have shown that vitamin D is no longer a nutritional necessity only used to prevent rickets in children; it is more widely recognized for its health significance, confirmed by a large number of clinical trials, including:
#3.1 To lower the chances of common cancers, such as breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, etc.
#3.2 To prevent autoimmune diseases, hypertension, and infectious diseases.
#3.3 To regulate the development and function of the placenta.
Maintaining a good vitamin D level in pregnant women can prevent pregnancy complications such as miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, and premature birth.
#3.4 Sufficient vitamin D in utero and in infants can reduce the chance of type 1 diabetes, asthma, and schizophrenia.
Precautions
Before treating hypocalcemia with VD3, the serum phosphorus concentration must be controlled, and blood calcium and other relevant indicators must be periodically reviewed.
Avoid using calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D preparations unless medically indicated.
Due to individual differences, the dosage of vitamin D3 should be adjusted according to the clinical response.
Usage and Dosage
Vitamin D3 is a prescription drug, so a doctor must prescribe it according to the patient’s condition. Patients should strictly follow the doctor’s instructions, including dosage, dosing schedule, and other details.
Patients should not use their medication without consulting a doctor.
Dosing and Dosage Forms
Injections:
0.5ml: 3.75mg (150,000 units);
1ml: 7.5mg (300,000 units);
1ml: 15mg (600,000 units).
How To Dose
Intramuscular injection of 7.5~15mg (300,000~600,000 units) at one time can only be repeated after 2~4 weeks for patients with severe cases.
Due to individual differences, the dosage of vitamin D3 should be adjusted according to the clinical response.
Post-use instructions
Before treating hypocalcemia, control serum phosphorus concentration, review blood calcium and other relevant indexes regularly, and avoid simultaneously applying calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D preparations unless prescribed by a physician.
Vitamin D3 may interfere with diagnostic results. It may decrease serum phosphatase concentrations, increase serum calcium, cholesterol, phosphate, and magnesium concentrations, and increase urinary calcium and phosphate concentrations.
During the medication, the following items should be checked: serum urea nitrogen, muscle mass and muscle mass clearance, serum alkaline phosphatase, blood phosphorus, 24-hour urinary calcium, urinary calcium-to-muscle mass ratio, blood calcium (with therapeutic doses of vitamin D3, regular monitoring should be performed to maintain a blood calcium concentration of 2.00-2.50 mmol/L), and bone X-ray examination.
Overdose
A short-term overdose or a prolonged high dose of vitamin D3 can result in a severe toxic reaction.
The toxic dose may vary from individual to individual, but 50,000 units per day for more than 6 months can cause poisonous reactions in normal people.
Hypercalcemia caused by poisoning can cause systemic vascular calcification, renal calcium precipitation, and other soft tissue calcification, resulting in hypertension and renal failure. These adverse reactions occur primarily with hypercalcemia and hyperphosphatemia.
Children may suffer from growth retardation, which is often seen after prolonged application of vitamin D3 at 1800 units per day.
Vitamin D3 toxicity can be fatal due to renal and cardiovascular failure.
To treat vitamin D3 overdose, in addition to discontinuing its use immediately, a low-calcium diet with plenty of water should be given to keep the urine acidic, along with symptomatic and supportive treatment.
For example, a hypercalcemia crisis requires an intravenous sodium chloride solution to increase urinary calcium discharge.
If necessary, diuretics, corticosteroids, or calcitonin should be administered, and patients should avoid exposure to the sun until the blood calcium concentration returns to normal before changing the treatment program.
Prohibitions
Individuals who are allergic to this product.
Patients with hypercalcemia, hypervitaminosis D, and hyperphosphatemia with renal osteomalacia.
People with malabsorption syndrome.
People with vitamin D toxicity or poisoning.
Prudent To Use
Those with arteriosclerosis, cardiac insufficiency, hypercholesterolemia, hyperphosphatemia
People who are highly sensitive to vitamin D and renal insufficiency (e.g., kidney stones, renal failure), non-renal disease treated with vitamin D3.
If the patient is abnormally sensitive to vitamin D3, it can produce nephrotoxicity.
How Much Does 98% Vitamin D3 Cost?
About the costs of Vitamin D3, please note that there are at least three types of VD3 on the market:
Pharma-grade;
Food-grade;
Feed-grade;
Different grades have different prices, as you can see.
But how do you tell the differences between each grade?
If I have three bags of white powder on the table without any labels, can you tell which is which?
If you can not, here is the trick: choose the fine crystals with the whitest color; they are pharma-grade.
Food-grade and feed-grade have white, off-white, or even light yellow colors.
The color difference is caused by impurity control during the manufacturing process.
Pharm-grade has high-quality standards; the activity must be over 40 million IU/G, and the market price is around 5000 USD per kilo.
When we say pharm-grade, it means this API is GMP-certified.
Even if it is 98% purity and meets USP standards, it is still food-grade.
Food-Grade: 1 Million IU/G, the price idea is around 60~100USD/kg.
Feed-Grade: 100,000 IU/G~500,000 IU/G, price is around 15~30USD/kg.
We mainly stock 98% VD3 powder, with or without GMP; the unit price for 1kg is about 5,000 USD.
How To Ship and Store Vitamin D3 Powder?
As mentioned above, VD3 powder is very stable. It can be shipped at room temperature by air or sea, but not by courier.
Stability testing has shown that it is stable for 3 years at room temperature.
However, it is suggested to be stored at 2~8 degrees Celsius for long-term storage.
The tricky part is the shipping, though.
Vitamin D3 oil is often used as an acute mouse poison, which means vitamin D3 in oil form is very poisonous.
It has also been proven that pharma-grade Vd3 powder is poisonous, so please label and handle it properly.
Food-grade and feed-grade vitamin D3 powder has been tested to be safe and non-poisonous.
They are suitable for shipping as a common chemical.
Disclaimer:
This content is for informational purposes only and is intended for business-to-business communication within the pharmaceutical industry. It is not intended as medical advice. The manufacture, import, and use of API must comply with all applicable laws and regulations in the relevant country or region.
This blog post is informational only and does not constitute medical advice.
Always consult a healthcare professional before starting any new medication or treatment.
