Boswellia ingredient is PLT Health Solutions’ answer to muscle recovery

18 Jun 2020 --- PLT Health Solutions is set to globally market its novel active and sports nutrition ingredient Dynaleve Muscle+Joint Formula, which is touted as a water-soluble, low-dose solution to post-exercise recovery. The Boswellia serrata-based ingredient has been clinically proven to aid muscle recovery as well as joint health. PLT targets the sport-oriented and active demographic with this ingredient launch, ranging from professional athletes to people doing physical labor as part of their jobs and “weekend warriors.

“PLT sees this ingredient with potential in pre-workout, post-workout and general support products. Dynaleve will help people train harder, recover faster and get back to the gym more quickly. The second target is for people – of all ages – who want to get ‘back to normal’ after physical activity,” Steve Fink, Vice President of Marketing at PLT Health Solutions, tells NutritionInsight. 

To deliver this ingredient to the sports nutrition sector, PLT partnered with India-based Laila Nutraceuticals, which invented Dynaleve. It is also responsible for harvesting, quality control and manufacturing the ingredient, which is based on an extract of Boswellia serrata.

Dynaleve was created as a ready-to-mix powder, but is also available as gummies and sachets.Delivery format is key
As active consumers frequently seek on-the-go sports nutrition solutions, Dynaleve was created as a ready-to-mix powder, but is also available as gummies and sachets. This is what Fink coins “a major technological achievement,” considering the lipophilicity of Boswellia extracts and boswellic acids generally makes them completely insoluble in liquids. 

“In addition, the extracts containing boswellic acids exhibit a very strong turpentine odor and bitter taste. These organoleptic properties traditionally limit the use of resin extracts to only solid dosage forms – basically capsules,” he explains.

Consequently, a research program was set in motion to develop a light-colored, odorless, tasteless, stable and water-soluble Boswellia extract, enriched in acetyl-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA). “Achieving these objectives in a single product using only regulatory-friendly materials was a real challenge. This was achieved over a two-year time frame. One of the surprises of this development process was that the final product showed improved bioavailability compared to the regular Boswellia extract containing the equivalent strength of AKBA.”

The partnering companies also placed a high emphasis on a low dosage, given the sports nutrition and nutraceutical sectors have been overrun by pill fatigue. A low dose not only responds to this consumer demand, Fink affirms, but also allows more ingredients to be included in a formulation and is cost-effective.

Clinical trials results
Dynaleve taps into the trend for science-backed ingredients that consumers can trust to enhance performance. A 2019 study demonstrated Dynaleve’s effectiveness, not only for the joint discomfort previously demonstrated by PLT’s patented Boswellia serrata ingredients, but also for muscle recovery assessed by reduced muscle soreness and recovery of strength. 

PLT President and CEO Seth Flowerman details that the secondary endpoints for the new clinical trial included strength recovery, knee soreness, overall stiffness, and “perceived exertion” in subsequent physical activity. The study also demonstrated improvements in biomarkers related to inflammation, muscle damage and connective tissue damage.

The study showed supplementing with Dynaleve for 10 days can reduce muscle soreness during squats by 47 percent. The study demonstrated that once daily supplementation with Dynaleve for 10 days resulted in up to a 47 percent reduction in muscle soreness during squats (muscle recovery) and a 31 percent reduction in knee soreness in participants over placebo. Full recovery of strength was achieved by 96 percent of Dynaleve subjects on day three, which was 2.5 times more than subjects taking placebo. 

In the trial, 50 recreationally active men, aged 25 to 40, were studied for their response to eccentric exercise-related Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness using 60 mg of Dynaleve versus a placebo. The supplementation period was ten days with eccentric exercise intervention on day seven. Testing occurred at baseline and on days seven through ten.

“This study highlights the potential for Dynaleve to help people feel better faster in their day-to day-lives – things like climbing stairs or walking with less stiffness can be made easier,” Flowerman adds.

“We think athletes and regular gym visitors will like the idea of a quicker and easier return to workouts or to exercise harder, sooner. We also feel that the ability to enjoy an active lifestyle – every day – will be attractive to seniors or people looking to stay in shape or lose weight. We’re excited about how innovative consumer products companies will put this new ingredient and new science to work,” he concludes.

This week, NutritionInsight also spoke with Fink regarding the company’s Earthlight Whole Food Vitamin D, the company’s response to demands for natural, minimally processed supplements. 

By Anni Schleicher, with additional reporting from Katherine Durrell

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