PLT Health Solutions’ botanical ingredient delivers muscle strength in 2 weeks
11 Sep 2020 --- PLT Health Solutions has introduced a new low-dose, botanically-based ingredient for sports and active nutrition. The Ayurvedic-inspired blend called RipFactor Muscle Accelerator is made from flower heads (Sphaeranthus indicus) and tree bark (Mangifera indica). According to the company, the new ingredient delivers results for muscle growth, vasodilation, endurance and strength within 14 days.
Targeting competitive sports, endurance sports and fitness training, the blend’s ingredients were selected from “hundreds of botanicals,” says the company, and involved a seven-year, multi-million-dollar development process.
Responding to what extent betting on botanical ingredients in the sports sector is future-proof, Steve Fink, vice president of marketing, tells NutritionInsight “Sports and active nutrition has been one of the most dynamic, actively growing segments for science-supported botanical ingredients in recent years. We see growth continuing into the future.”
A number of individual ingredients available on the sports nutrition market today must be combined. To see significant benefits, these have to be paired with exercise to support and promote strength, endurance, as well as improve both free and total testosterone levels and muscle growth benefits, Fink continues.
“RipFactor supports all four benefits in a single ingredient – with solid clinical science to back up these performance gains. This makes it very different from other solutions on the market today,” he adds
Arriving in standard powder and neutral-tasting, water-dispersible form, RipFactor is easily integrated into capsules and powders, as well as shakes and beverages for active and sports nutrition products. “This is one of the most attractive features of this new ingredient,” Fink highlights.
Clinical backing for high performance
In two previous clinical studies, RipFactor demonstrated a fourfold increase in muscle size, double the improvement in muscle endurance and five times the improvement in body strength relative to participants taking a placebo.
“One other interesting aspect of RipFactor is seen in its second clinical trial. Subjects using RipFactor saw gains over placebo subjects who were conducting twice the exercise.” Therefore, RipFactor can help people achieve their workout goals with half the exercise, according to Fink.
PLT Health Solutions predicts the botanical trend will continue into the future following the company’s study findings.“RipFactor drives significant gains in strength as early as two weeks, particularly with a dose less than 1 g,” adds Barbara Davis, head of clinical and regulatory sciences at PLT Health Solutions.
Improvements in testosterone and cortisol levels for the RipFactor group compared to the placebo groups provided a testosterone to cortisol ratio that favors anabolism and could be partially responsible for the muscle growth and strength benefits.
Manuscripts for both studies will be submitted for publication this year, the company notes.
Expanding the consumer base
Fink details that the second study was also conducted with test subjects who had not engaged in resistance training in months before the trial, as opposed to the first study examining the effects of RipFactor on regular gym-goers.
This indicates that RipFactor is not just suitable for professional athletes but also leaves ample potential for average people seeking to increase their muscle mass.
“Today, we refer to sports nutrition as ‘active nutrition’ to recognize that the consumer base is moving out of the gym and into the mainstream of life. In addition to training athletes and bodybuilders, we can include people who enjoy physical fitness as a lifestyle, people who enjoy recreational sports and the ‘weekend warrior,’” Fink outlines.
On this topic, NutritionInsight spoke with event exhibitors at Vitafoods Virtual Expo this week, who detailed how the traditional target consumer groups are being redefined.
PLT Health Solutions also offers Dynaleve Muscle+Joint Formula, which is touted as a water-soluble, low-dose solution to post-exercise recovery. It recently launched a new formulation of its ingredient Zynamite developed to improve sports performance in as little as one hour from a single dose.
By Anni Schleicher
