Vice president of scientific affairs Larry Robinson said that the three-strong team will allow the company to "effectively supplement the research already available or soon to be published on our line of patented 'Ester' products [Ester-E and Ester-C]".
Ester-E and Ester-C are advanced forms of the vitamins, and previous research indicates that they may help maintain healthy immune and cardiovascular systems.
Ester-E, which Zila licenses from Australian biotech firm Phosphagenics, contains d-alpha tocopheryl phosphares, which is believed to be the form of the vitamin to which the body converts all other forms until it is ready to use them. TP is created through a patented process by which a phosphate molecule is joined to the natural vitamin E.
Two animal studies have indicated that Ester-E can lower LDL cholesterol. The most recent of these, announced in October, found that LDL blood cholesterol concentrations and triglyceride levels were reduced by up to 44 percent and up to 51 percent respectively in mince fed normal diets.
These results have been said to support the move to a human clinical trial.
Ester-C, meanwhile, is produced by mixing ascorbic acid and calcium carbonate to create a pH neutral form of vitamin C, which helps prevent the stomach disruption that can occur when consumers take large doses of the vitamin in its natural form to help ward off colds.
The members of the board are Vern Cherewatenko, MD, MEd, founder of medican wellness company HealthMax Incorporated, Cares For America, and the American Association of Patients and Providers; Mohsen Meydani, DVM, PhD, director of the vascular biology program and senior scientist at Tufts University's Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging; and Mark Moyad, the Phil F Jenkins director of preventive & alternative medicine at the University of Michigan Medical Center and editor-in-chief of Elsevier's forthcoming new journal Seminars in Preventive & Alternative Medicine.
Zila currently markets Ester-E in the US, Canada and Indonesia United States, and discussions are underway to expand those rights to allow Zila to market Ester-E globally.