Active Component:

• Tea polyphenols standardised for epicatechin 

• Calcium Citrate

• Vitamin D

 

Form:

Epichol comes as a brown powder to be added at 40mg to 200mg per serve of finished product. This performance ingredient is certified and guaranteed in purity using Fourier Transform (Infra-Red) Raman Spectroscopy. It imparts a raw herbal taste.

 

Recommended Application:

• 40mg - 200mg per serve of finished product (do not exceed recommendations)

  • Specialised for resistance training (less suited to endurance training)

  • Strength/growth/anabolic

 

Research Highlights:

• Decreases myostatin and β-galactosidase and increases markers of muscle growth including follistatin, MyoD and myogenin

• Potent increase in skeletal muscle strength

• Decreases body fat

• Enhanced muscle mitochondrial function

 

Permissible Label and Advertising Claims Under FSANZ:

• Contributes to the maintenance of normal muscle functioning

• Necessary for normal nerve and muscle function

• Contributes to normal energy metabolism

 

Research Details:

Epicatechin is a polyphenolic extract of green tea. It elicits a variety of beneficial effects on muscle tissue, including inhibition of the release of myostatin and β-galactosidase which are both known age-linked inhibitors of muscle growth. Further, it has been demonstrated to upregulate markers of muscle growth including follistatin, MyoD and myogenin, leading to increased muscular strength (Gutierrez-Salmean, Ciaraldi, Nogueira, Barboza, Taub, Hogan, & Ramirez-Sanchez, 2014). It has also been shown to initiate mitochondrial biogenesis via the master regulator PGC-1a, as well as increasing expression of dystrophins (which fight dystrophy) in dystrophy-diseased muscle and ataxia to maintain muscle health. Further, it is the only orally bioavailable compound known to both increase follistatin and decrease myostatin (McDonald, Henricson, Oskarsson, Aguilar, Nicorici, Joyce, & Abresch, 2015; Qureshi, Patterson, Clark, Johnson, Moutvic, Driscoll, & Tebben, 2020).

 

Epicatechin has been demonstrated to be an extremely effective enhancer of strength gains in response to resistance training, particularly leg and chest press but also in arm exercises and other muscle groups (Mafi, Biglari, Ghardashi Afousi, & Gaeini, 2019). However, it is important to note that there is some evidence that epicatechin suppresses endurance-related responses in favour of resistance-related responses, so is recommended for resistance training over endurance training (Schwarz, Blahnik, Prahadeeswaran, McKinley-Barnard, Holden, & Waldhelm, 2018). Other beneficial effects of epicatechin include enhancement of mitochondrial function, decrease in body fat mass as well as increase in plasma nitric oxide concentration, leading to enhanced muscle bloodflow (Barnett, Moreno-Ulloa, Shiva, Ramirez-Sanchez, Taub, Su, & Villarreal, 2015; García-Merino, Moreno-Perez, de Lucas, Montalvo-Lominchar, Muñoz, Sánchez, & Larrosa, 2020). Epicatechin has also been suggested as a treatment for diabetes and various cancers due to its ability to inhibit blood glucose increase and cancerous cell growth (Abdulkhaleq, Assi, Noor, Abdullah, Saad, & Taufiq-Yap, 2017).

 

References:

Abdulkhaleq, L. A., Assi, M. A., Noor, M. H. M., Abdullah, R., Saad, M. Z., & Taufiq-Yap, Y. H. (2017). Therapeutic uses of epicatechin in diabetes and cancer. Veterinary World, 10(8), 869.

 

Barnett, C. F., Moreno-Ulloa, A., Shiva, S., Ramirez-Sanchez, I., Taub, P. R., Su, Y., & Villarreal, F. (2015). Pharmacokinetic, partial pharmacodynamic and initial safety analysis of (−)-epicatechin in healthy volunteers. Food & function, 6(3), 824-833.

 

García-Merino, J. Á., Moreno-Perez, D., de Lucas, B., Montalvo-Lominchar, M. G., Muñoz, E., Sánchez, L., & Larrosa, M. (2020). Chronic flavanol-rich cocoa powder supplementation reduces body fat mass in endurance athletes by modifying the follistatin/myostatin ratio and leptin levels. Food & Function, 11(4), 3441-3450.

 

Gutierrez-Salmean, G., Ciaraldi, T. P., Nogueira, L., Barboza, J., Taub, P. R., Hogan, M. C., & Ramirez-Sanchez, I. (2014). Effects of (−)-epicatechin on molecular modulators of skeletal muscle growth and differentiation. The Journal of nutritional biochemistry, 25(1), 91-94.

 

Qureshi, M. Y., Patterson, M. C., Clark, V., Johnson, J. N., Moutvic, M. A., Driscoll, S. W., & Tebben, P. J. (2020). Safety and efficacy of (+)‐epicatechin in subjects with Friedreich's ataxia: A phase II, open‐label, prospective study. Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease.

 

Schwarz, N. A., Blahnik, Z. J., Prahadeeswaran, S., McKinley-Barnard, S. K., Holden, S. L., & Waldhelm, A. (2018). (–)-Epicatechin Supplementation Inhibits Aerobic Adaptations to Cycling Exercise in Humans. Frontiers in nutrition, 5, 132.

 

Mafi, F., Biglari, S., Ghardashi Afousi, A., & Gaeini, A. A. (2019). Improvement in Skeletal Muscle Strength and Plasma Levels of Follistatin and Myostatin Induced by an 8-Week Resistance Training and Epicatechin Supplementation in Sarcopenic Older Adults. Journal of Aging & Physical Activity, 27(3).

 

McDonald, C., Henricson, E., Oskarsson, B., Aguilar, C., Nicorici, A., Joyce, N., & Abresch, R. (2015). Epicatechin enhances mitochondrial biogenesis, increases dystrophin and utrophin, increases follistatin while decreasing myostatin, and improves skeletal muscle exercise response in adults with Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD). Neuromuscular Disorders, 25, S314-S315.