Human Study: OTC Supplement Doubles T-Levels & Boosts Erections More Than Tadalafil - Too Good to Be True?

Just to make sure you don't suffer from withdrawl symptoms until Adelfo posts the next update on his current contest prep, I thought I'd share a photo that shows where he is currently at - not bad for someone of whom a handful of you have been shocked to hear that he eats at least 200g carbs per day and ice-cream almost every evening, right?

It's Thursday and before I'll get to a question on a very recent study I received via the SuppVersity Facebook page, I will brief you on the line-up of today's installment of the SuppVersity Science Round-Up on the Super Human Radio Network. By now, most of you should actually be familiar with the modus operandi: In case you cannot listen live at 1PM EST, you can always download the show ~2h later either from the "Physical Culture for Your Ears" menu in the sidebar of the SuppVersity, or right over at www.superhumanradio.com - obviously, you can also wait for tomorrow's SuppVersity Science Round-Up Seconds, in which I am providing some additional information on things we have discussed and post selected topics that did not make it into the show.

Apropos topics, the first topic we are going to address does actually pertain to the second part of this post and revolves around a recently published paper by Fabrizio Iacono et al. whose results do - just as SuppVersity reader Mark, who pointed me towards this article, says - look "too good to be true".

Now, upon closer scrutiny it turns out that they may well be "true", but are not just as "good" as they may initially look like. From this testosterone-laden topic we are then going to proceed with topics revolving around male and female longevity, optimal workout types and intensities for different trainees,the health effects of garlic, colostrum and chocolate and related topics.

I could mention more, but am afraid that this will just increase the risk of rushing through the items too quickly. Optimally, you just tune in live and pick up the rest in "print" in tomorrow's SuppVersity Science Round-Up Seconds!

200% increase in total and 130% increase in free testosterone

Just a reminder: Taurine has also (rodent) data showing up to 180% increases in testosterone and that's not exclusively in the sick and old.

This subheading sounds as if I was to pimp the "revolutionary new testbooster" by "whatever company" that will get you muscular and ripped in no time, right? Well, in the end it could well be the text of an advertisement, yet not one from any of the usual suspects but rather one for TRADAMIX®, a blend of "three natural substances with an 'anti-aging' effect on the tissues of the male genitourinary apparatus" (Tradapharma Sagl. 2012) - I know, without the usual "-bols", "-diols", or at least some indirect references to illegal anaobolic substances in the product name, this does not sound like it would work, but the +200% increas in total and +130% increase in free testosterone are for real and documented in a peer-reviewed study involving seventy patients (67.3± 3.7 years) with stable marital relations and reduced libido, with or
without erectile dysfunction who received either the infamous PDE-5 inhibitor Tadalafil (5mg/day) or two servings of the aforementioned 'testicular anti-aging supplement' (Iacono. 2012).

But before we even get to the testosterone levels, let's tackle the main problem of these guys and the actual research interest of the scientists from the University “Federico II” of Naples in Italy first. After all, the main outcome of the study at hand were the improvements in sexual desire and erectile function and those were almost identical in both groups - from 16 to 33 and 16 to 31, in the supplement vs. drug groups, respectively. If you go by the results of the international index of erectile function (IIEF) questionnaire (see figure 1, left), on the other hand, the dietary supplement yielded actually outperformed the blockbuster prescription drug by almost 10%:

Figure 1: Results of international index of erectile function (IIEF) questionnaire and RigiScan (device to measure penile tumescence and rigidity continuously that's used to differentiate vascular from psychogenic erectile dysfunction) before and after 2 months of treatment with Tradamixina and Tadalafil (Iacono. 2012).

What's probably even more impressive, though, are the differential effects of Tradamixina vs. Tadalafil on the RigiScale values (see figure 1, right). The RigiScale is an etablished means to differentiate psychogenic from organ-related (vascular) erectile dysfunction (Basar. 2001) and the fact that there was a significant reduction of RigiScale positive subjects in the Tradamixina group does already suggest a possible reason for the initially mentioned 200% increase in total and 130% increase in free testosterone (see figure 2).

Figure 2: Total and free testosterone levels before and after the administration of Tradamaxine (2 servings per day) or Tadalafil (2mg/day) to Seventy patients (67.3± 3.7 years) with stable marital relations and affected by reduced libido for 2 months (data based on Iacono. 2012)

What this underlying reason is? Well, probably reduced systemic inflammation, which leads to reductions in cortisol, blood glucose, insulin resistance, oxidative damage to the testes etc. and thus simply facilitates the restoration of normal testosterone levels.

If you know how google works, it'll take you maybe 5 minutes and a credit card and you'll have a couple of pounds of the ingredients right on the way to your doorstep.
Yep, you heard me right: A boost of +200% just brought those guys who started with 10ng/dl below the already way too broad normal range from 260-1080ng/dl (values may vary from lab to lab) in a quasi hypogonadal state, back to midrange levels of 680ng/dl.

Real world implications for healthy young men: The chance that a healthy, fit individual with normal testosterone levels would see a boost of 200% in his total or 130% in his free testosterone levels is not low, it is simply ZERO!

Notwithstanding, Tradamixina (or rather its ingredients) is actually more than just a cilialis alternative. While the latter is a short term solution to get rid of the symptoms of an underlying disease, the combination of Ecklonia Cava, tribulus, and d-glucosamine + n-acetyl-d-glucosamine could actually tackle the most frequent cause of erectile dysfunction, which is the triad of inflammation, insulin resistance and arteriosclerosis (for more details see info-box to the right).

So how does this stuff work? Although investigations into the mechanism by which the provision of Tradamaxine did work its magic was actually not part of the study, it's actually not difficult to hypothesize what may be the underlying cause of these unquestionably astonishing results. Firstly, the brown algae Ecklonia Bicyclis (better known as Ecklonia Cava!)of which each serving has 150mg has a very high content of sterols, polyphenols and tannins and is probably the main active ingredient of a formula which includes 396mg of tribulus and 144mg of d-glucosamine and n-acetyl-d-glucosamine as a 'support'. The phlototannins 7-phloro eckol and 6,6′-bieckoll that have been isolated from Ecklonia, a marine brown algae which has been used for centuries in traditional medicine in Asia, are more or less unique with respect to the potency of their antioxidant activity (Li. 2009). In conjunction with tribulus, d-glucosamine and n-acetyl-d-glucosamine, which also exhibit a certain degree of anti-inflammatory activity, a decrease in systemic inflammation is the most likely cause of the profound pro-sexual and pro-hormonal effects of this blend, which is yet by no means as unique as the producers would have it.

Bottom line: It is no coincidence that erectile dysfunction has been identified as a "harbinger of cardiovascular clinical events" (Thompson. 2005) and "a sentinel event for CAD [coronary artery disease]" (Irekpita. 2009). So if you are in the unlucky situation to suffer from vascular (and not physogenic) erectile dysfunction, and had the choice between a drug that will ameliorate the symptoms, i.e. Tadalafil, or a supplement that will treat the underyling cause, the decision for the supplement and against the lifestyle drug should be obvious, right?

Still, there is one, ... no, actually there are two things I would like to ask you, before you run all spiked up to the next best supplement shop: Firstly, how accurate would you say is the authors' claim that there was "no conflict of interest", if no one else, but the lead author of the study, has been granted a patent on the formula on April 4th, 2012 (US2012/089722 A1)? And secondly, do you really believe that it is a mere coincedence that the researchers deliberate use the hardly known appellation Ecklonia Bicyclis for a brown algae all of you probably know as Ecklonia Cava (see "Ecklonia Cava Polyphenols Help Shed Weight Even in The Presence of a Slight Caloric Surplus") throughout the whole paper without mentioning once that it is better known as "Ecklonia Cava"? I am well aware that studies are expensive and need to be financed and I am by no means suggesting that the results are - as Mark suspected - "too good to be true" (remember. the men were hypogonadal to begin with), but this paper does still have a somewhat peculiar aftertaste.

References:

• Basar MM, Atan A, Tekdogan UY. New concept parameters of RigiScan in differentiation of vascular erectile dysfunction: is it a useful test? Int J Urol. 2001 Dec;8(12):686-91.
• Iacono F, Prezioso D, Illiano E, Romeo G, Ruffo A, Amato B. Sexual asthenia: Tradamixina versus Tadalafil 5 mg daily. BMC Surg. 2012 Nov 15;12 Suppl 1:S23.
• Irekpita E, Salami TA. Erectile dysfunction and its relationship with cardiovascular risk factors and disease. Saudi Med J. 2009 Feb;30(2):184-90. 
• Li Y, Qian ZJ, Ryu B, Lee SH, Kim MM, Kim SK. Chemical components and its antioxidant properties in vitro: an edible marine brown alga, Ecklonia cava. Bioorg Med Chem. 2009 Mar 1;17(5):1963-73.
• Thompson IM, Tangen CM, Goodman PJ, Probstfield JL, Moinpour CM, Coltman CA. Erectile dysfunction and subsequent cardiovascular disease. JAMA. 2005 Dec 21;294(23):2996-3002. 
• Tradapahrm Sagl. Tradamix. 2012 < http://www.tradamix.com/en/ > retrieved on 11/29/2012.

Bofu-Tsusho-San: Ephedrine Based Kampo Kitchen Sink Fat Burner Cuts 10kg Body Weight, Boosts Metabolism by +15% & Reduces Insulin of Diet-Resistant Woman by 50%

Is there a Japanese  weight loss wonder supplement not even Dr. Oz knows about? And could it be more effective than Oz's raspberry ketones?

Sometimes the most inconspicuous articles turn out to be the most interesting ones. I mean, who would have guessed that a case report titled "Japanese herbal medicine for weight loss in a morbidly obese patient: A case report" would make it into the SuppVersity news? Being as heavy as tall, in this case 154.8 kg distributed not very proportional on a 157 cm frame with an 155cm waist, is - as unfortunate as that may seem - not exactly uncommon these days - even for a 22-year old woman. The words "japanese herbal medicine" and the line "her resting metabolic rate (RMR) increased from 2260 to 2440 kcal/day" (Haruta. 2013) the abstract mentions right after discussing her 10kg weight loss peaked my interest.

How bad off was the subject?

The subject had obviously been yoyo-dieting for years, when she was as hospitalized in the researchers' department for the purpose of weight loss.

"Her heart rate was approximately 100 beats per minute and her blood pressure was 156/108 mm Hg. Upon initial admission, we performed blood work, abdominal ultrasonography (US), and a head computed tomography (CT) to exclude secondary adiposis."

A biochemical examination of her blood yielded

To eat or to diet, what's worse? Some people argue that "dieting just makes you fat" and we all know about the yoyo effect, but is that (a) true and (b) what effects does it have on your over and metabolic health? (learn more)

• marginally elevated ALT levels;
• marginally elevated uric acid, but 
• normal creatinine and BUN levels;
• low HDL levels (bottom of the range), and 
• high-normal LDL levels;
• elevated HbA1c and fasting blood glucose levels,
• highly elevated insulin levels (2.7x), and
• highly elevated (5.5x) CRP levels
• normal cortisol, normal growth hormone, but 
• slightly elevated ACTH levels
• slightly elevated testosterone levels, but 
• otherwise normal endocrine function

Although the  elevation of ALT was marginal and the other parameters of liver health appeared in range, a fatty liver and a left ovarian tumor were detected by abdominal ultrasound.Unfortunately both not exactly uncommon in subjects with full blown metabolic syndrome, which is - according to International Diabetes Federation criteria - defined as having...

• hypertension, blood pressure>130/85 mm Hg, 
• abdominal circumference > 80 cm

• HDL-C < 50 mg/dL, and 
• plasma glucose>100 mg/dL

The doctors at the Department of Psychosomatic Internal Medicine of the Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences in Kagoshima, Japan, prescribed a reasonable exercise program and a calorically restricted diet containing 2,000kcal and thus ca. 12% less than the subjects resting metabolic rate (measured by respiratory exchange ratio; 2260 kcal/day). That did help her to lose ~5kg during her stay at the hospital, but at 150kg the weight loss stalled until....

Things changed, when the scientist prescribed bofu-tsusho-san

Bofu-tsusho-san  has been used in Kampo, the Japanese study and adaptation of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), for decades and though I have to admit I had not heard about it before, there is actually existing evidence for its efficiacy as a weight loss adjuvant:

Figure 1: Bofu-tsusho-san (BTO) does what you expect from a potent weight loss helper. It keeps your metabolic rate up - and even better BTO even increases it on a per lbs of body mass basis (Hioki. 2004)

• higher body fat loss, greater weight loss, no reduction in BMR + improved insulin response and lower homa-IR in 40 Japanese women (body mass index (BMI) 36.5 +/- 4.8 kg/m2) with IGT and insulin resistance (IR), who had been treated with a low-calorie diet (5016 kj/day: 1200 kcal) and an exercise regimen (1254 kj/day: 300 kcal) compared to 40 women in the placebo group (Hioki. 2004).

• blunts the weight gain patients on anti-psychotics (Zyprexa = olanzapine) often experience (Yamamoto. 2009).
   
• works by three distinct pathways, i.e. via the inhibition of triglyceride synthesis in the liver, and the enhancement of lipolysis in adipocytes and of thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue. At least that's what early studies in rodents suggest (Morimoto. 2001). 

The preparation has an overall favorable safety profile, with a tolerable intake of 2g/kg in rodents and thus ~325mg/kg in humans. Nevertheless, Bofu-tsusho-san is not totally devoid of side effect, there are two case reports of pneumonitis that occured after ~1 months of treatment with the drug and went away when the herbal was discontinued (Masushima. 2002; Suzuki. 2004).

For the subject in the study at hand, it may yet eventually turn out to be a life saver. After all the fat that had been coming back for more after each and every diet kept melting away, even after her stay at the hospital and when she reported back for the last examination before the paper was written, she had lost 10kg. That left her still morbidly obese, but with the initially mentioned +8% in resting metabolic rate (+15% if you express that relative to her body weight), improved fasting glucose levels (-31%) an HbA1c of 5.5.% (-17%) and immuno reactive insulin levels of 27.9 mU/mL (-45%!) she may not have been on her way to the cover of Shape, but (and this may be even a contrast) to a non-life-threatening body weight.

Let's look at the formula: Some old acquaintances in here

Did you know... that ephedrine HCL is not just a beta agonist, but also a potent anti-inflammatory? According to the results a group of scientists presents in the latest issue of Cellular & Molecular Biology, ephedrine HCL is "a new potential anti-inflammatory drug that can be useful for treating severe invasive Gram-positive bacterial infection"!? This conclusion is based on the observation that EHCL increases the levels of the anti-inflammatory interleukin-10 (IL-10) and decreases the release of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-alpha, IL-12 and IL-1beta) in immune cells that are stimulated with a component of the cell walls of gram-positive bacteria (Zheng. 2013)

Bofu-tsusho-san has also been shown (in vitro; Katoh. 2009) to inhibit beta-estradiol 3-glucuronidation, which is yet probably only a problem if you ingest it in very high amounts, an undertaking that could pose other problems even before you realize that its blocking your estrogen metabolism due to the sympathetic overactivation caused by ingredient #1 on the list below:

• Ephedrae herba (EH; contains ephedrine),
• Glycyrrhizae radix (GR; contains licoricidin), 
• Forsythiae fructus (FF; contains D-pinoresinol), and
• Schizonepetae spica (SS; inhibits phosphodiesterase enzymatic activities).

Looks pretty much as if it came right from the labs of an innovative supplement company, who've been following the SuppVersity news and articles pretty closely, right? Ok, everybody knowas about the beta-agonist qualities of ephedrine that may not have been important, but the fat-loss prowess of licorice (cf. "All about cortisol"), as well as the potential application of phosphodiesterase inhibitors to alleviate insulin resistance and promote fat loss (cf. Jansson. 2010; Murdolo. 2012) Carl and I mentioned on one of the past episodes of the Science Round Up would be something they may have picked up, here...

"Enough of the bragging, Adel!"

Ok, ok. I have to admit that it would have required some research on their part to come up with the additional Forsythiae fructus extract and the

• antihyperglycemic (Wikul. 2012), 
• antihypertensive (Greeneway. 2011),
• antifungal (Hwang. 2010) and 
• antioxidant effects - particularly in the gut (Jung. 2010; During. 2012) 

of its D-pinoresinol glycosoids, to come up with this ingenious invention, if it had not already been invented by an unknown Japanese Kampo practitioner decades ago, I should say ;-)

---

The Kitchen Sink Approach to fat loss is surprisingly effective(learn more)

Bottom line: While I believe nobody will be arguing that the ephedra part of the formula is probably the most effective ingredient, it's interesting to see that traditional medicine has already come up with "drugs", or rather herbals, that make use of synergies such as the weight loss benefits of PDE inhibtors, the Western allopathic medicine starts to understand, only now.

That these synergies can do the trick in commercially available supplements, as well, is something we have seen about a week ago, with the "Kitchen Sink Fat Burner" (learn more).

And still, not knowing which of the ingredients are actually responsible for the observed benefits is an unquestionable downside. A downside due to which I can't tell you if the classic E+C stack would be as, less or even more effective than the "kambo version of ECA". What I can tell you, though, is that the addition of Schizonepetae spica to the legendary "fat loss classic" makes sense. The same would go for Glycyrrhizae radix and Forsythiae fructus, which appear to make particularly good match as the latter will counter potentially blood pressure elevations due to the former.

References:

• During A, Debouche C, Raas T, Larondelle Y. Among plant lignans, pinoresinol has the strongest antiinflammatory properties in human intestinal Caco-2 cells. J Nutr. 2012 Oct;142(10):1798-805.
• Greenway F, Liu Z, Yu Y, Gupta A. A clinical trial testing the safety and efficacy of a standardized Eucommia ulmoides Oliver bark extract to treat hypertension. Altern Med Rev. 2011 Dec;16(4):338-47. 
• Hioki C, Yoshimoto K, Yoshida T. Efficacy of bofu-tsusho-san, an oriental herbal medicine, in obese Japanese women with impaired glucose tolerance. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2004 Sep;31(9):614-9.  
• Hwang B, Lee J, Liu QH, Woo ER, Lee DG. Antifungal effect of (+)-pinoresinol isolated from Sambucus williamsii. Molecules. 2010 May 14;15(5):3507-16.
• Jansson PA, Murdolo G, Sjögren L, Nyström B, Sjöstrand M, Strindberg L, Lönnroth P. Tadalafil increases muscle capillary recruitment and forearm glucose uptake in women with type 2 diabetes. Diabetologia. 2010 Oct;53(10):2205-8. doi: 10.1007/s00125-010-1819-4. Epub 2010 Jun 10. 
• Jung HW, Mahesh R, Lee JG, Lee SH, Kim YS, Park YK. Pinoresinol from the fruits of Forsythia koreana inhibits inflammatory responses in LPS-activated microglia. Neurosci Lett. 2010 Aug 23;480(3):215-20.
• Katoh M, Yoshioka Y, Nakagawa N, Yokoi T. Effects of Japanese herbal medicine,
  Kampo, on human UGT1A1 activity. Drug Metab Pharmacokinet. 2009;24(3):226-34.
• Lee MY, Shin IS, Seo CS, Kim JH, Han SR, Shin HK. Subchronic oral toxicity
  studies of the traditional herbal formula Bangpungtongseong-san in Crl: CD (SD)
  rats. J Ethnopharmacol. 2012 Dec 18;144(3):720-5.
• Matsushima H, Takayanagi N, Ubukata M, Tokunaga D, Mori S, Sato N, Kurashima K, Yanagisawa T, Sugita Y, Kawabata Y, Kanazawa M. [A case of pneumonitis induced by Bofu-tsusho-san]. Nihon Kokyuki Gakkai Zasshi. 2002 Dec;40(12):955-9.
• Morimoto Y, Sakata M, Ohno A, Maegawa T, Tajima S. [Effects of bofu-tsusho-san, a traditional Chinese medicine, on body fat accumulation in fructose-loaded rats]. Nihon Yakurigaku Zasshi. 2001 Jan;117(1):77-86.
• Murdolo G, Sjöstrand M, Strindberg L, Lönnroth P, Jansson PA. The selective phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor tadalafil induces microvascular and metabolic effects in type 2 diabetic postmenopausal females. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Jan;98(1):245-54. 
• Suzuki S, Tanaka A, Arai T, Adachi M. [Case of interstitial pneumonitis induced by a Chinese herbal medicine, bofu-tsusho-san]. Nihon Kokyuki Gakkai Zasshi. 2004 Aug;42(8):777-81. Japanese.
• Yamamoto N, Inada T. Bofu-tsusho-san effectively attenuates the weight gain
  observed after receiving olanzapine. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2008
  Dec;62(6):747.
• Wikul A, Damsud T, Kataoka K, Phuwapraisirisan P. (+)-Pinoresinol is a putative hypoglycemic agent in defatted sesame (Sesamum indicum) seeds though inhibiting α-glucosidase. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2012 Aug 15;22(16):5215-7.
• Zheng Y, Yang Y, Li Y, Xu L, Wang Y, Guo Z, Song H, Yang M, Luo B, Zheng A, Li P, Zhang Y, Ji G, Yu Y. Ephedrine hydrochloride inhibits PGN-induced inflammatory responses by promoting IL-10 production and decreasing proinflammatory cytokine secretion via the PI3K/Akt/GSK3β pathway. Cell Mol Immunol. 2013 Apr 22.

Two Weeks on Burdock Root Extract Increase Testosterone by +126% and Make Bucks as Horny as Viagra

Image 1: Burdock root has not only been used to treat skin problems such as eczema, acne, and psoriasis, but alsoas a blood purifier and it is part of the asian cousine.. what? You mean this is why Asia is the most populous continent?

By now, you should actually be aware that the SuppVersity is the place to go to get the news first. Assuming you did not win in the lottery, this is particularly important when it comes to the latest herbs from the deepest jungles in the greatest "natural" supplements in the "new products" section of your favorite local or online supplement store. Today, I am giving you another headstart on a soon to be released Burdock based testosterone booster... what? How I am supposed to know that? Well, you my dear reader and supplement consumer are not the only one who is reading these blogposts and if there is not already someone working on a respective product, it won't take very long from the moment I hit the "publish" button to the first alibaba search for Arctium lappa L.

Better than viagra and testosterone gel together 

The  Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine is a mine of information, when it comes to the latest, yet rarely greatest on the funkiest herbs from all around the word. In one of the recent issues a pretty non-descript paper on the sexual behavior of male rats caught my attention (for those of you who have not noticed that as of yet, there is a category "sex" in the main navigation of the SuppVersity, yet unfortunately, the number of interesting studies to report is... well, it is not exactly large, to say the least). In a two-week study, a group of scientists from the School of Life Sciences at the Shandong University in Jinan in the People's Republic of China (love that name ;-) 75 male albino rats on identical diets supplemented with either (JianFeng. 2012)

• viagra (sildenafil): 10mL/kg body weith per day, or
• burdock (extract): 300mg/kg, 600mg/kg, 1,200mg/kg per day

Compared to the fifth control group which received nothing but distilled water, the rats in the viagra group showed the expected increased horniness (as measured by significantly increased mount, intromission, and ejaculation frequencies; p < 0.05) when the lucky bucks were put into a cage with three receptive does (each!) on day 3, 7 and 15 of the experiemntal period (cf. figure 1).

Figure 1: Intromission and mounting frequency and latency on the 3rd, 7th and 15th day of supplementation with 300, 600 and 1,200mg/kg burdock root extract or viagra; data expressed relative to control (based on JianFeng. 2012)

If you take a closer look at the data in figure 1 you will yet notice that the burdock extract, which had been prepared by aqueous extraction from fresh roots of Arctium lappa L., a biennial thistle from the family of Asteraceae, was about as "sexually ergogenic" as the pharmacological PDE-5 inhibitor - or for the muscleheads out there: The number of "sets" the rodents were able to perform in a cage with three females increased and the necessary "rest" between "sets" decreased to almost the same degree in the 1,200mg/kg burdock and the 10mL/kg sildenafil (viagra) group.

How much is that in human terms? While it is alway questionable, whether or not the results we see in rodents will be mirrored in human studies, at all, the "standard calculation" (cf. "Ask Dr. Andro: What are Human Equivalent Doses and How to Calculate Them" yields a human equivalent of 49, 97, and 195mg/kg - assuming you bought 500mg caps that would mean that you would have to pop somewhere between 27 and 39 caps per day, unless some clever marketing guy tells you that their extract is 10x more potent, and you would get along with 3-4 caps (and and even slimmer chance of seeing any results ;-)

"Horny is nice, but I already have my viagra handy. What's more?"

While the increased horniness qualifies this blogpost to be filed in the "sex" category, I am almost tempted to actually file it under "build muscle" and "performance", as well.

Figure 2: Ejaculatory frequency, latency and post-ejaculatory interval (left) and increases in testosterone (right) on the 3rd, 7th and 15th day of supplementation with 300, 600 and 1,200mg/kg burdock root extract or viagra; data expressed relative to control (based on JianFeng. 2012)

After all, the testostorone boosting "side effects" the scientists observed are so profound (+39%, +87% and +126% in total testosterone after 15 days on 300mg/kg, 600mg/kg and 1,200mg/kg burdock extract) that, assuming that...

Table 1: In 2000 Tamayo et al. compared the anticarcinogenic, antioxidant, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, immune boosting and anti-microbial properties of burdock and a whole host of other relatively well-known herbs (++ strong evidence; + evidence; Tamayo. 2000)

• the testosterone boosting effects also occur in humans,
   
• the effects are not simply a result of increased binding of testosterone to SHBG and the free testosterone levels are still identical, and that
   
• these levels are sustainable without the potentially damaging bulbine, tinosporia cordifolia and piper nigrum could exert on your testes (cf. "Protect Your Testes! Beware of These Plants and Plant Products"),

it could actually be that you would see an increase in performance not only beneath the sheets, but also beneath the squat bar and actual hypertrophy in addition to the temporary "growth effects" the extract exerts on certain other body parts... so, I guess the chance of seeing an effect qualifies it to be filed as "performance" and "build muscle" news, right? And if you take a look at the "strong evidence" Tamayo et al collected on burdock's effect anticarcinogenic, antioxidant and antitumor effects (cf. table 1), I guess I could evenfile it under "health".

Now you tell me how long, till we see the first "revolutionary" product hit the market?

I am now accepting bets on how long it is going to take until someone figured out how he could fool... ah, I mean convince customers (not the well-educated majority to which you belong, obviously) that his product delivers the same results we are seeing in the rodent study at hand, yet at a much lower dose, because it contains "burdockadrol the most impotent", ah... sorry, I mean "burdockadrol, the most potent burdock extract on the market" - what do you think?