Stress is responsible for about 225 million lost working days by American workers every year, according to the American Institute of Stress, resulting in about $80 billion in lost productivity. And consumers are already looking for natural solutions to workplace stress, David Rutenberg, CEO for Lipogen, told us.
“The US market is ready for stress management supplements,” he said.
“Twenty-five percent of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives and 75% of employees believe the worker has more on-the-job stress than a generation ago.”
Lipogen PSPA
Responding to what the company sees as a relatively under-served opportunity the company launched its Lipogen PSPA ingredient for stress management products. The new, patent-protected ingredient is a natural blend of phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidic acid (PA).
“Lipogen PSPA was launched by Lonza a few months ago but under a different brand name that refers to cognitive health and not specifically to stress management,” explained Rutenberg. Lipogen is able to position PSPA for stress management, educate their clients and provide more information about the ingredient, he said.
A stress management supplement with the company’s PSPA ingredient just launched in the US market, he said, although the company could not yet reveal the identity.
Science
“Lipogen PSPA efficacy has been successfully tested in two clinical trials,” said Rutenberg. “Lipogen holds U.S., EU and Canadian patents for the Lipogen PSPA stress management solution, allowing protection and support for PSPA marketing partners.”
The ingredient is said to improve stress response under psychological and socially demanding conditions measured by lower levels of stress hormone (cortisol).
A 2004 study published in Stress (Hellhammer et al. Vol. 7, pp. 119-26) provided the initial evidence for a selective stress dampening effect of the ingredient. This was followed a decade later by a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 75 healthy male volunteers, published in Lipids in Health and Disease (Hellhammer et al. 2014, 13:121), which examined effects of 6 weeks of daily oral supplementation of PSPA 400 (PAS 400), a complex containing 400 mg PS and 400 mg PA. Results showed that the supplementation was effective in stabilization of the endocrine response to a stress test (Trier Social Stress Test) in chronically stressed subjects, observing normalization of cortisol.
The ingredient is available in liquid and powder formulations, and is non-GMO and kosher certified, said the company.
Stress and its effects
According to the American Psychological Association, stress can affect everyone at some time, and can lead to both mental and physical health issues.
While some stress can be beneficial, extreme and long-term stress can produce detrimental effects to the “immune, cardiovascular, neuroendocrine and central nervous systems”, adds the APA.