Study shows mango leaf extract-quercetin combo boosts exercise performance
“The present investigation has shown that the oral administration of Zynamite PX, a blend of natural polyphenols combining an extract from mango leaves abundant in mangiferin with a small amount of quercetin, elicits significant changes in resting skeletal muscle signaling molecules and modifies the signaling responses to high-intensity exercise,” the researchers wrote in the journal Nutrients.
The study was co-financed by Nektium Pharma, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Finance, the National Sports Council of Spain, a Spanish Federation of Rare Diseases (FEDER) and the government of Grand Canary grant, and the Canary Islands Development Fund (FDCAN).
Powering up with Zynamite
Spanish botanical ingredient manufacturer Nektium first introduced its Zynamite ingredient at Vitafoods Europe in 2018, marketed for mental- and physical-stamina enhancing effects as demonstrated by a series of human trials. In North America, Nektium ingredients are distributed by New Jersey-based PLT Health Solutions.
“In the cognitive space, we see [Zynamite’s] ability to deliver non-stimulant mental energy, either by itself or in combination with caffeine as a foundation for energy products, study aids, cognitive performance products and more,” said Devin Stagg, COO at PLT Health Solutions, ahead of the U.S. launch in 2019. “In the active/sports market, [it] brings a combination of mental and physical benefits to pre-workout, post-workout and daily use products.”
PLT added Zynamite PX to the portfolio in 2020, accompanied by a doping-free ingredient certification from the Banned Substances Control Group (BSCG) testing lab for the sports and active nutrition category. Although previous studies have shown that the combination ingredient enhanced exercise performance, this latest study set out to determine “whether Zynamite PX may trigger molecular changes in skeletal muscle analogous to the ones elicited by physical exercise, thus functioning as an exercise mimetic.”
Study details
The study recruited 25 healthy males between the ages of 18 and 35 and assigned them to either a no-substance control group or a supplementation group that consumed a combination of 140 mg of Zynamite (standardized to 60% mangiferin, an aqueous extract from Mangifera indica) and 140 mg quercetin (provided as 280 mg Sophora japonica extract, standardized to 50% quercetin) every eight hours for two days.
Participants then performed incremental exercise to exhaustion (IE) followed by occlusion of the circulation in one leg for 60 seconds, a 30-second sprint and a 90-second circulatory occlusion with the same leg. The researchers obtained Vastus lateralis muscle biopsies at baseline, 20 seconds after IE (occluded leg) and 10 seconds after Wingate (occluded leg), and bilaterally at 90 seconds and 30 minutes post exercise.
“Compared to the controls, the Zynamite PX group showed increased basal protein expression of Thr287-CaMKIIδD and Ser9-GSK3β and a non-significant increase of total NRF2 and Ser40-NRF2,” the researchers reported. “In the controls, there was upregulation with exercise and recovery of total NRF2, catalase, glutathione reductase, and Thr287-CaMKIIδD, which was not observed in the Zynamite PX group.”
In simpler terms, findings indicated that Zynamite PX elicits muscle signaling changes in resting skeletal muscle resembling those described for exercise training and partly nullifies the stress kinases responses to exercise as observed in trained muscles.
“In addition to improving power output and muscle recovery, the study suggests new mechanisms by which Zynamite PX is working, such as by amplifying the benefits of training; improving exercise efficiency; and supporting strength, muscle quality, and maintenance of muscle mass,” Steve Fink, vice president of marketing at PLT Health Solutions, told NutraIngredients-USA. “These goals are especially important in the context of compensating for gaps in training, and for supporting exercise benefits in an aging population.”
Source: Nutrients
“A Mango Leaf Extract (Zynamite®) Combined with Quercetin Has Exercise-Mimetic Properties in Human Skeletal Muscle”
doi: doi.org/10.3390/nu15132848
Authors: Miriam Martinez-Canton et al.
