The Strengthera Muscle Maintenance + Vitality formula is marketed across mobility solutions and healthy aging platforms with potential benefits for joint, muscle, cartilage and bone health.
“Muscle health is important to aging well as it becomes more challenging to build and maintain muscle mass as we age,” said Seth Flowerman, president and CEO of PLT Health Solutions. “Strengthera is an exciting breakthrough as it supports strength, endurance, stability and mobility, enhancing independence, vitality and overall quality of life.”
The new brand harnesses the same botanical combination used in the company’s popular RipFactor muscle accelerator product, which has been clinically shown to activate mTOR, catabolic inhibition, mitochondrial metabolism and endothelial nitric oxide synthase.
A newly completed clinical study, however, extends efficacy to an over-55 demographic, showing improvement in muscle strength, muscle endurance and physical function in both men and women.
Expanding the benefits
PLT shared insights from this latest randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial pending publication, which evaluated the effects of Strengthera in a group of 92 healthy women and men between the ages of 55 and 70 years over a 12-week period.
The Strengthera cohort consumed 650 mg of the ingredient once per day in conjunction with an at-home calisthenic exercise program, with testing at baseline and at 4, 8 and 12 weeks. Key outcome measures included muscle strength (1RM leg extension, grip strength), muscle endurance (80% 1RM leg extension to failure), functional mobility (six-minute walk, 30-second sit-stand), lean mass (DXA), muscle quality (leg strength/leg muscle mass). Biomarkers and questionnaires were also analyzed.
According to the company, the low-dose ingredient worked quickly, with study subjects showing significant improvements across measures beginning at four weeks. The proposed mechanism of action is the enhancement of mitochondrial efficiency, making exercise more efficient and productive.
Commenting on the study findings, Jennifer Murphy, director of innovation and clinical development at PLT, noted that grip strength, in particular, is not only considered an accurate indicator of vitality and overall muscle strength but also a biomarker of longevity and a strong predictor of future health.
"Another important differentiator of this new study is that it included women,” she added. “Too often muscle ingredients focus studies on men only, but of course, we know that due to physiological differences, benefits should be illustrated in both populations.”
The aging female athlete
Speaking at the NutraIngredients-USA Sports & Active Nutrition Summit last week, Dawna Salter-Farfan, PhD, RD, senior manager of clinical research at PLT, discussed the launch in the context of the increasing number of older female athletes and the challenges they face.
“The truth of the matter is that women do drop out significantly from activity and fitness as they age,” she said, listing barriers to continued fitness including a decreasing sense of physicality, fear of risk of injury, aching joints and muscles, and muscle loss coupled with weight gain.
She highlighted the need for solutions that target the inflammation that disrupts cellular efficiency and muscle protein synthesis to help women overcome these barriers so that they can continue to reap the benefits of an active lifestyle despite the natural muscle loss and function that accompanies aging.
“Clearly, as we age, the deck becomes stacked against us, so we have to be really mindful to try to do what we can to tip that balance back towards effective synthesis,” Dr. Salter-Farfan said, noting that proper diet and resistance exercise are crucial but that dietary supplements like Strengthera also have a role to play.
