Calci-Prime

Calci-Prime is a dietary supplement manufactured in Slovenia for Coral Club. The bottle holds 120 vegetable capsules, and the directed amount for adults is two capsules twice a day with meals — four a day, which makes one bottle a 30-day supply.

Eight declared ingredients, and the basis they are stated on

The manufacturer lists amounts per capsule. Because the directed amount is four capsules, the daily totals are four times the figures on the label — worth doing before comparing this product with any other.

Per capsule: calcium 137.5 mg, magnesium 40 mg, vitamin K2 18.8 mcg, zinc 1.34 mg, manganese 0.25 mg, boron 0.2 mg, vitamin D3 1.25 mcg (50 IU), and horsetail herb extract 2 mg. Across four capsules that comes to 550 mg calcium, 160 mg magnesium, 75.2 mcg vitamin K2, 5.36 mg zinc, 1 mg manganese, 0.8 mg boron and 5 mcg (200 IU) vitamin D3.

Where the calcium comes from

Calcium and magnesium are supplied as Aquamin™ TG, derived from lithothamnion red algae harvested in the North Atlantic. According to Coral Club, these algae take up minerals from seawater and incorporate them into their cell walls, which become rock solid. Aquamin™ is a registered trademark of Marigot Limited, Ireland.

The vitamin K2 is MenaQ7®, a menaquinone-7 preparation and a registered trademark of NattoPharma AS, Norway. Both are licensed ingredients rather than Coral Club formulations.

What the manufacturer states

Coral Club describes calcium as essential for maintaining strong bones and teeth, aiding muscle function including the heart, and playing a role in blood clotting and energy production. Vitamin D3 helps the body absorb calcium; vitamin K2 supports bone and dental health by forming new bone tissue; magnesium contributes to bone and dental health, helps absorb calcium and plays a role in collagen synthesis; zinc supports bones, mineral metabolism, cell formation, immunity and vitamin A absorption; manganese participates in connective tissue formation; silicon, sourced here from horsetail, is found mainly in connective tissue; boron is concentrated in the skeleton and teeth.*

Two things the amounts are worth reading against

The Daily Value for calcium in the United States is 1300 mg. Four capsules supply 550 mg, so the product covers a portion of the day's calcium rather than the whole of it, and the rest is expected to come from food.

Vitamin D3 sits at 200 IU a day across four capsules, against a Daily Value of 800 IU. Calci-Prime is therefore not a vitamin D supplement — the D3 is there to support absorption of the calcium, as the card describes, not to meet the day's requirement on its own.

The horsetail extract is listed at 2 mg per capsule and the card names it as the silicon source, but no silicon amount is declared, so the contribution cannot be quantified from the label.

Who the manufacturer excludes

Coral Club's precautions read: individual intolerance to the components of the product, pregnancy, breast-feeding — and consult a doctor before use. Worth reading as written, since pregnancy and breastfeeding appear as precautions in their own right rather than only as grounds for a conversation.

Labels, storage and shelf life

Coral Club declares plant-based capsules and no soy. Shelf life is 2 years from the production date. Store in a dry place at a temperature not exceeding 77°F, out of reach of children.