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From: David L.
Date: 8/21/00
Time: 5:56:39 PM
Remote Name: 130.20.128.81
Since your handle is dogdoc, you probably have a better idea of this stuff than me but I'll give it a try with a laymen's explanation. The algyval site (http://www.noatak.com/sepval/algyv02.html) has the technical specifics. The following primer (http://www.nutri-notes.com/marapr94_simple.htm) gives the laymen's description of the stress response.
OK, here's my oversimplified understanding: dog runs, muscles swell, dog gets sore. This is an immune response to stress, aka inflammatory response. Basically, exercise damages some cells, these cells need to tell the rest of the body that they are damaged so they can either be repaired or killed off. They do so by leaking out chemicals such as prostaglandins and leucotrienes that signal the other repair cells by binding to their surface. This starts the inflammation response, where vessels swell and blood flow increases => swelling. Now, the algyval is just crushed up peanuts and peanut oil has compounds in it (peanut lectin?) that look enough like parts of the prostaglandins and leucotrienes that they also bind the cell surfaces, block the pg's and lc's from binding, but they do not themselves signal the swelling response. So, they simply block the communication link from the damaged cells to the cells involved in repair.
I hope I got at least some of this right. Corrections are certainly welcome.
Sincerely, David L.