Ingredient profile
Benfotiamine in SciatiEase: What Does 200 mg of Vitamin B1 Do?
SciatiEase contains 200 mg of benfotiamine in every 4-capsule serving, or 100 mg at 2 capsules. Benfotiamine is a fat-soluble form of vitamin B1. In the main trial, people with diabetic nerve damage took 300 or 600 mg a day for 6 weeks, and the result was borderline. No study has tested benfotiamine for sciatica.
Written by the SciatiEase label deskUpdated
The label line01
How much benfotiamine is in SciatiEase?
Four capsules hold 200 mg of benfotiamine, a fat-soluble form of vitamin B1. Two capsules hold 100 mg.
Benfotiamine has its own printed line on the Supplement Facts panel, just below acetyl-L-carnitine. The panel prints the amount but no % Daily Value beside it.
Your body turns benfotiamine into thiamin, the vitamin B1 it already gets from food (NIH ODS, Thiamin). Adults need only 1.1 to 1.2 mg of thiamin a day, and no upper limit has been set. The 200 mg in SciatiEase is not about filling a gap in your diet. It is an amount borrowed from nerve research.
One number to know: the brand home page lists 300 mg of benfotiamine (SciatiEase order page). The panel prints 200 mg, and we follow the panel.
| Name on the label | Benfotiamine |
|---|---|
| What it is | A fat-soluble form of vitamin B1 (thiamin) |
| Place on the label | Its own printed line |
| Amount per 4 capsules | 200 mg per 4 capsules |
| Amount per 2 capsules | 100 mg |
| Amount used in research | 300-600 mg a day in diabetic neuropathy trials |
| Strength of evidence | Mixed: one small trial helped, a longer one did not |
| Marketed or traditional use | Raises thiamin levels in the blood |
| Main caution | Generally well tolerated; little long-term safety data. |
The research02
Does benfotiamine help nerve pain?
Small trials in diabetic nerve damage found modest, borderline gains. None of them looked at sciatica.
The best-known trial is BENDIP. Its 165 participants with diabetic nerve damage took 600 mg, 300 mg or a placebo each day for 6 weeks (Stracke et al., BENDIP 2008). One symptom score improved in the people who stuck to the plan. Counting everyone who started, it just missed.
A broader review of B vitamins for nerve damage reached a cautious verdict. There was not enough evidence to say whether they help or harm (Ang et al., Cochrane 2008).
| Source | Dose | What it found |
|---|---|---|
| BENDIP trial, 165 people, 6 weeks (Stracke et al., BENDIP 2008) | 300 or 600 mg a day | Symptom score better per protocol (p = 0.033), borderline when all were counted (p = 0.055); a second score showed no difference |
| Three small studies, summarized by NIH (NIH ODS, Thiamin) | 120 to 900 mg a day, some with other B vitamins | Less severe symptoms than placebo |
| Cochrane review, 13 studies (Ang et al., Cochrane 2008) | Various B vitamins | Evidence too thin to call; vitamin B was generally well tolerated |
Sciatica03
Is benfotiamine good for sciatica?
Nobody knows yet. Every trial enrolled people with diabetic neuropathy, which is a different kind of nerve problem.
Sciatica is leg pain, tingling or numbness from pressure on the sciatic nerve or its roots. A bulging disc, a narrowed spinal canal or a tight piriformis muscle are common causes (MedlinePlus, Sciatica).
Diabetic neuropathy works differently. It affects up to half of people with diabetes and is usually felt as burning or numbness in both feet and legs (NIDDK, Peripheral Neuropathy). Results there may not carry over to a pinched nerve root.
Benfotiamine for sciatica is a reasonable idea to discuss, not a tested answer. Most sciatica improves with time and staying active (Koes et al., BMJ 2007), so any change you notice may have other causes too.
Dose check04
What benfotiamine dose did the studies use?
BENDIP used 300 or 600 mg a day. SciatiEase gives 200 mg at the full serving, about two-thirds of the lower trial dose.
The math fits in two lines. Four capsules give 200 mg, which is 67% of 300 mg and 33% of 600 mg. Two capsules give 100 mg, a third of the lower dose.
In BENDIP the larger dose did better than the smaller one (Stracke et al., BENDIP 2008). That pattern points the same way as the math: SciatiEase sits below both arms of the trial.
Do not add capsules to reach 300 mg. Eight capsules a day would also double the vitamin B6 to 40 mg, so 4 a day stays the limit.
SciatiEase: from $49.99 a bottle120 capsules · 1, 3 or 6 bottles · free US shipping on 3 or 6 · 180-day guarantee
See packsSafety05
Is benfotiamine safe to take every day?
It was well tolerated in the 6-week trial, and thiamin has no set upper limit. Data on years of use are thin.
BENDIP reported good tolerance at both doses (Stracke et al., BENDIP 2008). The NIH fact sheet sets no upper limit for thiamin (NIH ODS, Thiamin).
Furosemide, a common water pill, is linked to lower thiamin levels (NIH ODS, Thiamin). That is a reason to mention any B1 product to the doctor who prescribes it. Keep taking prescribed medicine exactly as directed, and never change a dose because you started a supplement.
What else rides along in each serving
Benfotiamine never comes alone in SciatiEase. The same 4 capsules carry 20 mg of vitamin B6, R-alpha lipoic acid and four herbs. The full list of cautions lives on the side effects page.
Fair view06
Where does benfotiamine fit in the SciatiEase formula?
It is one of four nerve ingredients the brand puts up front, and after acetyl-L-carnitine it sits furthest below its trial dose.
PEA at 500 mg falls inside its studied range. Benfotiamine reaches two-thirds of its lower dose, and acetyl-L-carnitine about a sixth. Compare all 12 on the SciatiEase ingredients page.
Pros
- Printed amount on its own line
- The same fat-soluble B1 form used in trials
- Well tolerated in the studies
Cons
- 200 mg, below the 300-600 mg studied
- Borderline results even at trial doses
- No sciatica trial
Related lines07
Which nerve supplement ingredients sit next to benfotiamine?
Four more B vitamins share the panel with it: B2, B6, folate and B12, each in an active form.
B12 arrives as 1,000 mcg of methylcobalamin, the largest % Daily Value on the label. B6, B2 and folate share one profile. Read vitamin B12 in SciatiEase and B6, B2 and folate.
Timing questions are on the results timeline.
FAQ08
Benfotiamine questions
What is benfotiamine in SciatiEase?
It is a fat-soluble form of vitamin B1 that the body converts to thiamin (NIH ODS, Thiamin). SciatiEase lists 200 mg per 4-capsule serving on its own panel line.
Does benfotiamine help sciatica?
No study has tested it for sciatica. Trials in diabetic nerve damage found modest, borderline gains at 300 or 600 mg a day (Stracke et al., BENDIP 2008). Sciatica usually comes from pressure on a nerve root, so those results may not apply.
What is the usual benfotiamine dose in studies?
The main trial used 300 or 600 mg a day for 6 weeks, and the higher dose did better (Stracke et al., BENDIP 2008). SciatiEase gives 200 mg at 4 capsules and 100 mg at 2.
Is benfotiamine the same as vitamin B1?
Not quite. Benfotiamine is a man-made relative of thiamin, and the body turns it into thiamin after you swallow it (NIH ODS, Thiamin).
Is 200 mg of benfotiamine a day safe?
It was well tolerated in a 6-week trial at up to 600 mg (Stracke et al., BENDIP 2008), and thiamin has no set upper limit (NIH ODS, Thiamin). Long-term data are limited, so tell your doctor you take it.
Why does the SciatiEase website say 300 mg of benfotiamine?
The brand home page lists 300 mg, but the Supplement Facts panel prints 200 mg (SciatiEase order page). The panel is the legal record of a serving, so we follow it.
Can I add a separate benfotiamine pill to SciatiEase?
Ask your doctor or pharmacist first. Never add SciatiEase capsules to reach a higher dose, since that also raises vitamin B6.
Who wrote this09
Written and reviewed by
Pages built from the label, the brand pages and linked NIH, FDA, FTC, NICE and peer-reviewed sources.
Last updated . How we work: editorial standards and how we check reviews. This website is run by a licensed SciatiEase retailer, not by the manufacturer, SciatiEase Labs. We earn money when you buy through our order links.
Keep reading
More about SciatiEase
Licensed SciatiEase retailer
Ready to try SciatiEase?
Look over your medicines first, then choose a pack. Three or six bottles ship free in the US and cost less per bottle, and the 180-day guarantee covers every pack.
- Secure checkout on the brand page
- 180-day guarantee
- Ships from the U.S.
