Efficacy and safety of Eurycoma longifolia (Physta®) water extract plus multivitamins on quality of life, mood and stress: a randomized placebo-controlled and parallel study

Abstract

BackgroundThe use of alternative and complementary medicines to alleviate stress has increased to avoid the negative effects of pharmaceutical drugs.ObjectiveThis study investigated the safety and efficacy of Eurycoma longifolia in combination with multivitamins (EL+MV) versus placebo on improving quality of life (QoL), mood and stress in moderately stressed healthy participants.MethodsThis randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled 24-week study enrolled 93 participants aged 25–65 years, with a body mass index of 18–30 kg/m2, scoring ≤18 in tension and ≤14 in fatigue subscale of Profiles of Mood Scores (POMS) questionnaire and supplemented with EL+MV or placebo. The primary endpoints were QoL measured by 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) questionnaire and mood measured by POMS. The secondary endpoint was stress measured by Multi-Modal Stress Questionnaire (MMSQ). The safety of the intervention product was measured by complete metabolic panel, lipid and renal analysis including several immune parameters.ResultsWhile there were no significant between-group differences, within-group improvements were observed in the SF-12 QoL, POMS and MMSQ domains. In the SF-12 domain, improvements were seen in role limitation due to emotional health (P = 0.05), mental component domain (P < 0.001), emotional well-being (P < 0.001), social functioning (P = 0.002) as well as vitality (P = 0.001) at week 12. An increasing trend in POMS-vigour domain was also observed in the EL+MV group at week 12. A 15% decrease in physical stress domain (P < 0.05) compared with 0.7% in the placebo group was also observed in MMSQ. When the subjects were subgrouped according to age, 25–45 and 46–65 years of age, for primary outcomes, between-group significance was observed in the 25–45 year group in the social functioning domain of SF-12 (P = 0.021) and POMS-vigour (P = 0.036) in the 46–65 year group. No significant changes were observed in vital signs and complete metabolic panel. Regarding immune parameters, the lymphocytes increased significantly in the active group (P≤0.05). In total, 13 adverse events were reported: six on placebo and seven on EL+MV.ConclusionEL+MV may support the QoL, mood, stress and immune parameters in healthy participants.Trial registrationThis study has been registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02865863).

Efficacy of Labisia pumila and Eurycoma longifolia standardised extracts on hot flushes, quality of life, hormone and lipid profile of peri-menopausal and menopausal women: a randomised, placebo-controlled study

“…Furthermore, the stable concentration of total testosterone in the Nu-femme™ group suggests that, in comparison to the placebo where total testosterone levels decreased, maintaining the levels in the Nu-femme™ group is advantageous as observed with Nu-femme™ supplementation in this study. The positive effect on maintaining the testosterone balance may be attributed to the actions of the constituents of E. longifolia since similar results were obtained in a previous study (34). Another study findings support this, where both total and free testosterone increased significantly in senior women when supplemented with 400 mg of E. longifolia for 5 weeks (35).…”

An exploratory double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled study to assess the efficacy of CitruSlim on body composition and lipid parameters in obese individuals

“…Both doses of Citruslim did not showed effects on mood, except an improvement of VIG parameter, which has been observed by Eurycoma longifolia . In fact, Eurycoma longifolia in combination with multivitamins, improved quality of life, mood, and stress in moderately stressed healthy participants (George et al, 2018).…”

“…It has been proposed that plant‐derived antiobesity compounds induce weight loss through various mechanisms, including regulating lipid metabolism, suppressing food intake, stimulating energy expenditure (Gamboa‐Gomez et al, 2015), and stress control (George, Udani, Abidin, & Yusof, 2018; Talbott, Talbott, George, & Pugh, 2013). CitruSlim is a standardized blend of Citrus bergamia and E. longifolia and exhibits a beneficial effect on weight control due to the potential of its ingredients to reduce lipid accumulation in adipose cells (Lahrita, Kato, & Kawabata, 2015; Lo Furno et al, 2016).…”

“…It has been proposed that plant-derived antiobesity compounds induce weight loss through various mechanisms, including regulating lipid metabolism, suppressing food intake, stimulating energy expenditure (Gamboa-Gomez et al, 2015), and stress control (George, Udani, Abidin, & Yusof, 2018;Talbott, Talbott, George, & Pugh, 2013).…”

Brain Cortical and Hippocampal Dopamine: A New Mechanistic Approach for Eurycoma longifolia Well-Known Aphrodisiac Activity and Its Chemical Characterization

“…Clinical and experimental studies indicate additional pharmacological activities of E. longifolia. The plant was shown to enhance immunity [8], improve quality of life and mood [9], protect against osteoporosis [10], and prevent obesity [11].…”