Composition of Deer Velvet

While extensive research has been carried out in Russia where deer velvet has been used for decades, China, Korea and Japan, this was the first time such research has been carried out in a Western country. The first stage of the project was directed into the actual growth and composition of antlers. Their extraordinary rapid growth means that the chemical composition is constantly changing and it also varies within the antler itself, a fact that is well known to Oriental practitioners who classify each part of the antler separately from the tip to the base.

They call the tip the wax piece or lu pian, and it has the texture and colour of honey. It is also the most expensive section. The upper part is called xie pian, or blood piece, the next section down is called feng pian, which refers to its honeycomb appearance, and the base is the bone section or gu pian.

To study New Zealand velvet in comparison with the Russian and Chinese-traditionally regarded as the world's best-both young and mature red deer, wapiti and fallow deer antlers were analysed. After being dried and weighed each antler was divided into four sections and the ash, mineral and lipid (or fat) content was measured. While the mineral content of the antlers were similar, the lipid content of New Zealand red and fallow velvet was found to be higher than the Russian maral and Chinese malu. It is in the lipid, or fat, that the valuable active ingredients of velvet are found, and a higher lipid content signifies a correspondingly higher potency.

During the analysis, many of the major minerals needed to maintain healthy bodies were found to be present including calcium, phosphorus, sulphur, magnesium, potassium, sodium, manganese, zinc, copper, iron, selenium and cobalt. As would be expected, the calcium levels were found to be lowest in the tip, and increased towards the base as the calcification increased. On the other hand, the lipid content was highest in the tip, the most valuable section of the antler, and decreased in the lower portions.

There were also marked differences noted depending on the stage of antler growth, with the older antlers showing an increased content of ash, calcium and phosphorus, and decreased amounts of lipid, sulphur, sodium, potassium and selenium. Every one of the minerals and trace elements found in velvet antler contribute in some way to a healthy immune system.

Also found in velvet in varying quantities are a wide range of bioactive properties. These include: amino acids, collagen, polyamines, androgens, estrogens, ectosaponins, mucopolysaccharides, glucosamines, hematopoietin, glucosaminoglycans, N-Acetyl-glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate A, anti-inflammatory prostaglandins, erythropoietin (a glycoprotein produced in the kidney that stimulates red blood cell production in the bone marrow), and gangliosides (believed to be involved with cell metabolism and growth). Found mainly in the central nervous system but also in other tissues, gangliosides consist of fatty acids, sphingosine, simple sugars, galactosamine and sialic acid. The sphingomyelins are "involved in complex bioregulatory pathways", they are believed to be biologically active and are possibly very important for the quality of the velvet. Once again the highest levels were found in the antler tips and the lowest in the base as the antler became more mineralised.

The antler also contains fibroblasts and chondroblasts- the cells from which connective tissue and cartilage are developed; chondro- and osteocytes- cartilage and bone cells; growth factors including IGF-1 and IGF-2, and epidermal and nerve growth factors. Also analysed were the concentrations of free amino acids, the basic building blocks of protein that are essential for healthy cell growth. While all twenty-two amino acids are manufactured by plants through the process of photosynthesis, humans and animals are able to synthesize all but a few amino acids, called 'essential' because they must be supplied ready-made through the food we eat.

Tests show that velvet antler contains all eight essential amino acids. It is composed primarily of protein, with collagen as the major protein consisting of glycine, alanine, proline and hydroxyproline. Amino acids found in other velvet proteins include: tryptophan, lysine, threonine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, histidine, arginine, spartic acid, serine, glutamic acid, cysteine, methionine, and tyrosine.

While the first stage of the Invermay research project has firmly established New Zealand velvet as among the best in the world comparing favourable with traditional sources from China and Russia, the second and more extensive stage involves providing the scientific data necessary for velvet to be accepted as a major food supplement by Western health authorities.

'Deer Velvet' only buys top grade (AA) Deer Velvet

Animal Welfare Issues

Velvet Energy only buys velvet from herds that have been approved of by the New Zealand Game Board for their very high animal welfare standards. The New Zealand deer industry is extremely proactive in addressing animal welfare issues with regard to the removal of velvet. Velvet removal is a surgical procedure undertaken by a veterinarian or a specially trained farmer.

Farmers are certified under an industry training programme developed in association with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Animal Welfare Advisor Committee and animal welfare groups. Nevertheless a number of misperceptions persist. The following facts will address some of these.

• Deer velvet regenerates naturally every year so the deer are not killed for their antlers.
  
• Velvet is removed using methods proven to ensure analgesia, so deer feel no pain.
  
• The National Velveting Standards Boards (NVSB) audits animal welfare standards and provides means of tractability.
  
• Non-Removal of antlers presents a significant danger to deer and other stock and also handlers.