Zynamite PX shown to enhance speed and recovery in professional basketball players

30 Jan 2024 --- Nektium’s sports nutrition offering Zynamite PX — a composition of its signature mango leaf extract and quercetin — has demonstrated significant improvements to athletic performance in professional basketballers, according to a recent study. The athletes were shown to be faster and exhibited reduced exertion after taking the supplement.

“We have been pleasantly surprised by the interest this ingredient has generated in the sporting world, to the point of it being used in independent, well-designed trials. This demonstrates the robustness of the previous studies we have conducted with Zynamite PX, our own blend of Zynamite and quercetin,” Laura López, head of product, research, development and innovation at Nektium, tells Nutrition Insight.

“The studies show the potential benefit of pre-game supplementation with Zynamite® and quercetin for professional and non-professional athletes alike.”

“We now know that it offers benefits for those who individually want to perform high-intensity and sustained exercise and those who attend gyms as well as for high-intensity team sports. Also, its effect is visible at a single dose, so it is experiential,” López underscores. 

When taken before exercise, Zynamite PX has been observed to support athletic performance in men and women. It enhances maximal oxygen uptake and peak power output during sprinting and accelerates recovery, reducing muscle pain and damage.

The current independent study, published in Nutrients and featuring professional basketball players, provides further credibility to the synergetic advantages of mango leaf extract and quercetin for elite athletic performance.

Playing ball for science
The double-blind study featuring 38 male basketball players from Greece’s top three national leagues examined the effects of consuming Zynamite PX an hour before intermittent high-intensity exercise. The players had to complete 24 circuits of 30-second activities.

The researchers measured various performance metrics during exercise and compared the results to a baseline and a control group, who took the placebo. 

“Zynamite PX is a natural, safe and side effect-free solution supported by multiple clinical trials. It provides benefits within one hour after a single small dose. It also has a different mechanism of action to other sports nutrition ingredients on the market, opening up opportunities for manufacturers to introduce new benefits to their formulations. It is suitable for applications including capsules, tablets, effervescents, powders, stick packs and RTDs,” says López.

The groups were equally matched according to playing positions, one containing seven guards, six forwards, and six centers and the other comprising six guards, seven forwards and six centers. Their anthropometric and physiological characteristics were detailed. The players were selected based on criteria such as having a minimum of six years of playing experience and being older than 18 years. They were required to maintain moderate-to-vigorous physical activity — at least 60 minutes daily during the study period.

Participants in the supplement group were faster, showing a statistically significant improvement in their mean circuit lap time compared to those in the placebo group.Zynamite combined with quercetin is a synergetic combination commercially available as Zynamite PX (Credit: iStock/natasaadzic). 

The supplement group also showed a significant reduction in their subjective rating of perceived exertion, which assesses overall muscular effort and fatigue.

“This study confirms that a combination of Zynamite and quercetin is suitable for enhancing performance for a wider range of consumers than had previously been shown. Previous studies were carried out with laboratory-based exercise protocols,” López explains.

“They featured members of the general population who were used to high levels of physical activity and there was a high degree of control over the exercises being carried out. This new study was carried out by independent researchers and included field-based exercise protocols as well as professional athletes taking part in stop-start team sports where the physical demands are high.”

Biochemical response in muscle fiber
A previous study of Zynamite PX, published in Nutrients in 2023, observed exercise-mimetic properties of the supplement, triggering a biochemical response in skeletal muscle fibers at rest similar to that produced during regular exercise.

“It acts fast to improve peak power output, reduce pain perception and improve brain oxygenation during physical activity as well as reducing lactate build-up and accelerating recovery after physical exercise,” says Bruno Berheide, commercial and partnership director at Nektium.

“Suitable for both pre-workout and post-workout formulations, Zynamite PX is a natural sports nutrition ingredient that benefits brain and body." 

In the current study, participants’ sleeping patterns, dietary habits and physical activity were monitored and had to be consistent. In the week leading up to the second visit, the participants were given specific dietary guidelines for a well-balanced diet consisting of 50–60% of total energy intake from carbohydrates, 25–30% from fats and 15% from proteins.

They kept a record of what they ate regarding ingredients, portion sizes and the details of each meal. Participants refrained from physical activity about two days before each field visit, engaging only in low-load training sessions for standard game strategies and team cohesion. They were prohibited from taking supplements as they may have ergogenic or synergistic effects. 

The basketball players refrained from alcohol consumption and medication; they resided at low altitudes and could not donate blood. They did not report having any gastrointestinal discomfort post-supplementation. 

The researchers conducted the study in the early season stage when the players had not accumulated substantial fatigue from extensive matches. They were given four-day intervals between tests and the preceding game to facilitate recovery and minimize the influence of the competition. 

In 2022, Nektium expanded its botanical ingredient offerings into the F&B arena. The move means that its clinically researched, branded plant extracts — such as Zynamite and Rhodiolife — can be used beyond supplements in sports and energy beverages, dairy products, gummies and cereal bars.

By Inga de Jong