Arjuna Bark Extract May Support Heart Performance in Athletes

Photo © iStockphoto.com/kieferpix

Arjuna (Terminalia arjuna) has revealed its potential benefits for use in heart-health supplements in past research, but a new clinical study now finds arjuna bark extract may support heart safety and performance in athletes. Prinova USA (Carol Stream, IL) recently shared the study results, which suggest Oxyjun, a proprietary arjuna bark extract developed by Enovate Biolife Pvt. Ltd. (Wilmington, DE), increased cardiovascular efficiency and improved cardiac conditioning in young men.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study included 32 healthy men aged 18-40 who performed regular endurance exercise. For 56 days, subjects were randomized to receive either 400 mg/day of Oxyjun or a placebo. On the first day of the study, day 28, and day 56, subjects participated in an exercise protocol consisting of a treadmill run with a one-minute warm-up at 3 mph, followed by 2% increases in gradient and 1 mph increases in speed every three minutes, until the subjects said the exercise was too difficult to continue.

Also at each exercise session, researchers recorded participant heart rate and blood pressure, and assessed Borg Rated Perceived Exertion using the Borg Scale. They also collected venous blood samples within five minutes of exercise to measure cardiac biomarkers creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB) and cardiac troponin-T. Additionally, researchers recorded left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) via electrocardiogram, as well as left and right ventricular myocardial performance index (MPI).  

Compared to the placebo group, researchers found that the Oxyjun group showed significant improvements to LVEF and decreased right ventricular MPI after 56 days of supplementation. Furthermore, the fatigue level after completion of exercise, as captured by the Borgs Scale, showed a greater decrease in the Oxyjun group compared than in the placebo group. However, CK-MB and troponin-T did not change significantly.

“Based on the findings of the study, we deduce that [Oxyjun] improved various central factors for physical endurance such as left ventricular ejection fraction, time to exhaustion, and Borg RPE score,” says Robert N. Girandola, EdD, lead author of the study. “This study successfully demonstrates the extract’s ability to enhance the performance and protect the heart in young exercising adults.”

Oxyjun is an arjuna extract standardized for polyphenol and glycoside content. It is developed by Enovate Biolife, supplied by IN Ingredients (Columbia, TN), and distributed in North America exclusively by Prinova.

Read more:

New Nitric Oxide Heart-Health Dietary Supplement Lets Users Test Their NO Levels

Are Omega-3 Supplements Heart-Healthy?

Sports-Nutrition Formulators Eye Opportunities, Challenges of Plant Proteins

Michael Crane
Associate Editor
Nutritional Outlook Magazine
michael.crane@ubm.com

References:

Girandola RN et al., “Effect of E-OJ-01 on cardiac conditioning in young exercising adults: a randomized controlled trial,” American Journal of Therapeutics. Published online November 29, 2016.