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27.07.2023

Does Spilanthes acmella accelerate muscle growth? And if so - how?

According to a far from perfect human study from India, supplementation with an extract of Spilanthes acmella, a medicinal plant from Ayurveda, should stimulate not only sexuality but also muscle growth in avid strength athletes. Is this because Spilanthes acmella increases testosterone levels?

Study
In 2021, doctors from Hyderabad, India, published the report of a trial in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care in which 218 men took 500 milligrams of Spilanthes acmella extract every day for 2 months.

There was no placebo group.

The researchers used an extract marketed by Stiriti Ayur Therapies as SA3X. It consists of 3.5 percent spilanthol [chemical structure below], which is probably the main bioactive compound in Spilanthes acmella.

SA3X is included in a growing number of supplements that, according to the manufacturer, are supposed to have a prosexual effect, or are supposed to stimulate the muscle growth of bodybuilders. According to the researchers, the test subjects trained 5 times a week in a gym.

The publication makes no mention of sponsorship. It does tell us that the researchers received a database with the subjects of Stiriti Ayur Therapies. It is not clear what was in that database. Was it just the names of subjects who were willing to cooperate? Or did Stirity Ayur also perform the measurements on which the researchers based their study?

The article suggests that the men had been training for quite some time, but also does not provide any specific data about the training history of the test subjects.

Results
After using SA3X for 2 months, the study participants' arm circumference, leg circumference, and chest circumference increased by 2.1, 1.8, and 2.3 centimeters, respectively. We do not know to what extent this increase is the result of the supplement. After all, there was no placebo group.

The men reported nearly a twofold increase in their sexual activity.

Click on the table below for a larger version.

Testosterone?
The researchers suspect that Spilanthes acmella works by increasing testosterone levels. They have not measured the testosterone level of their bodybuilders, but refer to previously published studies in which SA3X increases the testosterone level of men. These studies come from their own sleeve.

Nihar Ranjan Pradhan, the first author of the study we are discussing, was the lead researcher of a human study published in Cureus. [Cureus. 2022 Jun 23;14(6):e26236.] In this study, more than three hundred men received 500 milligrams of Spilanthes acmella extract daily for 3 months. Again the extract in question was SA3X.

The testosterone level rose during the supplementation period, as shown in the figure below. Click on it for a larger version.

It is doubtful whether this increase is relevant. In the average test subject there was an increase of a mere 3 percent.

If SA3X does indeed have such wonderful effects on muscle growth, the mechanism may be different. According to fundamental research, spilanthol inhibits inflammatory factors such as TNF-alpha, the transformation of stem cells into fat cells and the conversion of amino acids into glucose. Perhaps the effects of spilanthol are a more plausible explanation for the measured muscle growth than the modest increase in testosterone levels.

Conclusion
Frankly, we don't know what to think of Spilanthes acmella. We still find the herb itself, and its constituent spilanthol, extremely interesting. But we cannot be enthusiastic about these AS3X studies.

Source:
J Family Med Prim Care. 2021 Nov;10(11):4242-6.

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