UPC: 733739045874
# N4587

NOW Foods Benfotiamine 300 mg with Inositol – 90 Veg Capsules

At-a-Glance Product Overview

NOW® Benfotiamine 300 mg delivers an advanced, fat-soluble form of Vitamin B-1 designed to protect your nervous system and support healthy blood sugar metabolism. Standard water-soluble thiamine flushes out of the body quickly, but pharmaceutical-grade BenfoPure™ benfotiamine dissolves easily through cell membranes to reach your nerves, eyes, and blood vessels [1]. Fortified with 115 mg of pure inositol, this clean daily formula shields your cells against sugar stress while keeping your daily energy pathways running smoothly [2, 3].

Quick Specs Snapshot

  • ✔ Active Form & Potency: 300 mg of pure BenfoPure™ Benfotiamine (chemical formula: C19H23N4O6PS) plus 115 mg of Inositol per single vegetarian capsule serving.
  • ✔ Primary Cellular Target: Activates the cellular transketolase enzyme, which safely redirects excess glucose (C6H12O6) breakdown byproducts to defend delicate nerve fibers and blood vessel linings [2].
  • ✔ Supply & Value Math: 90 vegetarian capsules per bottle (a full 3-month / 90-day supply at 1 capsule per day), offering exceptional cost-per-day savings directly through VitaNet®, LLC.
  • ✔ Formulation Purity: Non-GMO, Vegan/Vegetarian, Soy-Free, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, and Nut-Free, encapsulated without cheap industrial flow agents or synthetic colors.

Buyer's Guide: Why the Form Matters

Most regular vitamin B-1 supplements use plain thiamine hydrochloride (Thiamine HCl), which dissolves only in water. Because your digestive wall and cell membranes are made of natural fats and oils, water-soluble thiamine has a difficult time passing through, leaving the majority of the dose to wash harmlessly down the drain [1, 5]. BenfoPure™ benfotiamine is fat-soluble (lipophilic), allowing it to glide straight through cell barriers to create blood thiamine levels up to 5 times higher and tissue concentrations up to 25 times greater than standard vitamin B-1 [1, 5]. Unlike cheap big-box store vitamins that use low-grade raw materials packed with artificial binders, NOW® delivers authentic, trademarked BenfoPure™ that your body can immediately put to work.

Is This Formula Right for You?

Ideal For Shoppers Who:

  • ✔ Want targeted comfort for peripheral nerves in their feet, toes, and hands to help maintain healthy sensation [3].
  • ✔ Seek strong cellular defense for their retina, kidneys, and blood vessel walls against everyday sugar stress and advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) [2, 4].
  • ✔ Tried conventional water-soluble B-1 tablets in the past without feeling results and need a fat-soluble form that actually penetrates deep into nerve tissue [1, 5].

Consider Another Option If:

  • ✘ You are only looking for a simple, low-dose daily vitamin to fulfill basic daily dietary values (a standard B-complex may fit your everyday needs).
  • ✘ You have difficulty swallowing size "0" capsules and require a liquid suspension or powdered drink format.
  • ✘ You are pregnant or nursing and have not yet reviewed high-potency nutritional supplements with your personal physician.

Every purchase is backed by VitaNet®, LLC's unconditional 100% money-back guarantee—even on opened bottles, with return shipping covered—so you can evaluate digestive comfort and personal fit completely risk-free.

Biochemical Mechanism & Cellular Pathways

Every cell in your body burns simple sugar (glucose, chemical formula C6H12O6) to make biological energy. However, when glucose levels in the bloodstream rise after eating, cellular processing lines can get backed up like a crowded highway. When glucose gets trapped inside cells, it spills over into harmful side streets, creating sticky chemical compounds known as Advanced Glycation End-products, or AGEs [2]. Think of AGEs like hot caramel poured into fine machinery: they stiffen blood vessels, weaken tiny capillaries, and irritate delicate nerve endings [2, 4].

Because BenfoPure™ Benfotiamine (chemical formula C19H23N4O6PS) is fat-soluble, it easily slips through the oily outer membrane of your cells without waiting on slow transport carriers [1]. Once inside, natural cellular enzymes convert benfotiamine into active thiamine diphosphate, also known as cocarboxylase [1, 5]. Cocarboxylase switches on a vital rescue enzyme called transketolase [2].

Transketolase acts like a smart traffic cop at a gridlocked intersection. It takes the excess sugar breakdown products and detours them safely into the pentose phosphate pathway, converting them into harmless building blocks for healthy cellular repair [2]. By boosting transketolase activity by up to 300% to 400%, benfotiamine helps block three major toxic pathways at the same time: the formation of AGEs, the inflammatory Protein Kinase C (PKC) pathway, and the damaging hexosamine pathway [2, 4].

NOW® enhances this formula by pairing 300 mg of benfotiamine with 115 mg of pure Inositol. Inositol is a specialized nutrient that serves as a fundamental building block for the protective myelin insulation wrapping your nerves. When excess sugar accumulates in tissues, nerve cells rapidly lose their natural inositol reserves, causing nerve impulses to slow down. Supplying bioavailable inositol directly alongside benfotiamine replenishes these cellular reserves, supporting crisp nerve communication and healthy cellular signaling throughout your extremities.

Daily Dosing, Timing & Synergy Protocol

Optimal Timing & Meal Pairing: Take 1 vegetable capsule daily with a meal that contains healthy dietary fats (such as eggs, olive oil, avocado, or nuts) and an 8-ounce glass of water (H2O). Because benfotiamine is fat-soluble, dietary fats trigger the release of natural digestive bile, creating microscopic carriers called micelles that shuttle benfotiamine smoothly across your intestinal lining into the bloodstream [1].

Circadian & Split-Dosing Strategy: The best time to take your capsule is in the morning with breakfast or midday with lunch. Because active Vitamin B-1 cofactors jumpstart cellular energy production inside your mitochondria, taking it earlier in the day supports your daytime focus and physical vitality while preventing late-evening alertness when you want to sleep.

Smart Synergies & Spacing Rules: Benfotiamine pairs exceptionally well with Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) for whole-cell antioxidant defense, as well as Methylcobalamin (active Vitamin B-12) for nerve sheath maintenance. If you drink dark black tea, coffee, or red wine, enjoy them at least 1 to 2 hours apart from your supplement, as heavy plant tannins can temporarily reduce thiamine absorption.

Timeline of Expectations

  • ✔ Week 1 (Cellular Uptake & Tolerance): Benfotiamine enters the bloodstream rapidly with zero digestive irritation. Intracellular thiamine and inositol pools begin replenishing across nerve and vascular tissues [1, 5].
  • ✔ Weeks 3–4 (Enzymatic Activation): Transketolase enzyme activity reaches full saturation, helping detour excess glucose byproducts. Shoppers frequently report noticeable improvements in everyday foot, toe, and hand comfort [2, 3].
  • ✔ Months 2–3+ (Long-Term Structural Defense): Continuous inhibition of AGEs supports long-term capillary strength, peripheral nerve insulation, and balanced microvascular blood flow for lasting wellness [2, 4].

Physical Capsule, Sensory & Clean Excipient Profile

Delivery Format & Swallowability: NOW® Benfotiamine 300 mg comes in standard size "0" two-piece vegetarian capsules. Measuring approximately 0.85 inches in length, the smooth plant cellulose shell becomes slippery upon contact with water, gliding down easily without sticking in the throat.

Natural Aroma, Taste & Color Notes: Inside the transparent capsule is an ultra-fine, uniform off-white to pale cream powder. Because thiamine contains a natural sulfur atom in its chemical structure, you may notice a very faint, characteristic nutty or yeasty aroma upon opening the bottle. When swallowed whole, the capsule is completely tasteless and leaves no unpleasant aftertaste.

Other Ingredients Demystified:

  • ✔ Hypromellose (cellulose capsule): A 100% plant-derived vegetarian capsule shell made from natural softwood pine cellulose that dissolves cleanly in stomach acid within 5 to 10 minutes.
  • ✔ Ascorbyl Palmitate: A clean, fat-soluble form of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid bonded to natural vegetable palmitic acid) that functions as a natural antioxidant, protecting the active benfotiamine from oxidation during storage without synthetic preservatives.

Storage & Stability: Store your bottle tightly closed in a cool, dry pantry or cabinet away from direct sunlight, steam, and excessive heat (ideally between 60°F and 75°F). Avoid storing in humid bathroom medicine cabinets to protect the vegetarian capsule shells from ambient moisture.

Supplement Facts, Analytical Lab Testing & Retailer Verification

Supplement Facts
Serving Size: 1 Veg Capsule
Servings Per Container: 90
Amount Per Serving Amount % Daily Value
Benfotiamine (BenfoPure™) 300 mg **
Inositol 115 mg **
** Daily Value not established.

Other Ingredients: Hypromellose (cellulose capsule) and Ascorbyl Palmitate.
Allergen Free Statement: Not manufactured with wheat, gluten, soy, milk, egg, fish, shellfish, tree nut, or sesame ingredients. Produced in a GMP facility that processes other ingredients containing these allergens.
Trademark Attributions: BenfoPure™ is a registered trademark of Hamari Chemicals, Ltd. Family and employee owned. Made and quality tested in the USA with globally sourced ingredients.

NOW® Analytical Lab Testing & Strict Contaminant Constraints

Discount supplements sold in big-box stores and unvetted online marketplaces are frequently produced by anonymous contract packagers who skip basic analytical testing. In contrast, NOW® Foods operates one of the most advanced private nutritional testing facilities in North America. Their analytical laboratories are accredited under international standard ISO/IEC 17025:2017, conducting more than 19,000 comprehensive analytical tests every single month to guarantee pharmaceutical-grade safety:

  • ✔ Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS): Screens every incoming batch for toxic heavy metals down to parts-per-billion (ppb) concentrations, enforcing purity ceilings far stricter than standard USP monograph minimums and California Proposition 65 limits for Lead, Arsenic, Cadmium, and Mercury.
  • ✔ High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC): Validates that every individual capsule contains the exact 300 mg active potency of BenfoPure™ benfotiamine and 115 mg of pure inositol from the day of bottling through the date of expiration.
  • ✔ Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS & GC-MS/MS): Runs comprehensive pesticide screens searching across more than 500 agricultural residues, industrial solvents, and chemical adulterants to verify absolute raw material cleanliness.
  • ✔ Microbiological Pathogen Screening: Quarantines all lots until automated PCR and DNA characterization confirm the complete absence of hazardous pathogens, including Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus, alongside strict yeast and mold tolerances.
  • ✔ Dual cGMP Certifications: NOW® manufacturing facilities hold comprehensive Good Manufacturing Practices certifications audited independently by both the Natural Products Association (NPA "A-rated") and UL Solutions (Underwriters Laboratories).

Curator's Quality Note

Curated and verified by the nutritional biochemistry team at VitaNet®, LLC. Operating from our retail headquarters in Hartville, Ohio since 1995, VitaNet®, LLC brings over 31 years of dedicated supplement evaluation and customer care to every product we offer. We hold an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), store all products in temperature-regulated facilities to safeguard active nutrients, and protect every order with an unconditional 100% money-back guarantee that even pays for return shipping.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes BenfoPure™ benfotiamine different from standard Vitamin B-1 (Thiamine HCl)?

Standard Vitamin B-1 is water-soluble, meaning your intestines can only absorb a tiny amount before carrier proteins become saturated, causing the rest to be eliminated in urine. BenfoPure™ benfotiamine is a fat-soluble derivative that dissolves directly through cellular lipid membranes [1]. This results in up to 5 times higher thiamine concentrations in your blood and delivers up to 25 times more active thiamine into tissues like nerves, kidneys, and retina [1, 5].

Why is Inositol included in this 300 mg Benfotiamine formula?

Inositol is an essential nutrient that forms the physical structure of nerve cell membranes and facilitates cellular electrical signaling. When excess sugar accumulates in the body, nerve cells experience a rapid drop in natural inositol levels, which can slow down nerve conduction velocity. Supplying 115 mg of bioavailable inositol alongside benfotiamine helps rebuild cellular inositol reserves and supports smooth nerve impulse transmission.

Can I open the capsule and mix the powder into water or a smoothie?

Yes. If you have trouble swallowing pills, you can gently twist open the vegetarian capsule and stir the contents into water, unsweetened applesauce, or a smoothie. Because benfotiamine is fat-soluble and has a mild natural nutty aroma, blending it into a smoothie that contains healthy fats (like peanut butter, almond milk, or yogurt) will help ensure optimal digestive absorption.

Will taking Benfotiamine 300 mg break an intermittent fast?

A single capsule contains zero calories, zero carbohydrates, and zero protein, so the capsule itself will not trigger an insulin spike or break a fast. However, because benfotiamine is a fat-soluble compound that requires dietary fats for maximum transport across the intestinal wall, it is best taken alongside your first meal of the day rather than on an empty stomach during fasting hours [1].

How does NOW® Benfotiamine compare to discount vitamins sold at big-box stores?

Many discount brands sold in big-box retail stores rely on low-cost contract packagers who do not perform complete analytical testing on incoming raw powders. NOW® Foods owns private ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratories running over 19,000 analytical tests monthly. They test every lot with ICP-MS for heavy metals and HPLC for potency, ensuring you receive pure, unadulterated BenfoPure™ with zero hidden contaminants or unlisted fillers.

Scientific References

  1. Bitsch, R., et al. (1991). Bioavailability assessment of different fat-soluble thiamine derivatives. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 35(5), 292-296.
  2. Hammes, H. P., et al. (2003). Benfotiamine blocks three major pathways of hyperglycemic damage and prevents experimental diabetic retinopathy. Nature Medicine, 9(3), 294-299.
  3. Stracke, H., et al. (1996). Benfotiamine in diabetic polyneuropathy (BENDIP study). Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology & Diabetes, 104(6), 411-416.
  4. Beltramo, E., et al. (2008). Effects of thiamine and benfotiamine on intracellular glucose metabolism and oxidative stress in human endothelial cells. Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews, 24(7), 571-578.
  5. Loew, D. (1996). Pharmacokinetics of thiamine derivatives especially benfotiamine. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 34(1), 47-50.
Helpful Customer Reviews



Supplemental Information