A proprietary blend of extracts from green coffee fruit and curcumin, developed and marketed by Zeus Hygia as Gremin, was evidenced to potentially support muscle injury recovery in a recently-published animal study. 
 
The study, appearing in the Journal of Nutraceuticals and Food Science, sought-out the effects that this botanical blend would have using mouse models of muscle injury, by exposing the mice to BaC12, of which a local injection causes damage to skeletal muscle fibers. While the right Tibialis anterior muscles served as muscle injury models, the left TA muscles served as controls.
 
The mice were divided into vehicle control, BaC12 control, Gremin, and reference compound groups. All except the vehicle were administered BaC12 injections to induce muscle injury. Following the injections, the Gremin and reference compound were administered to the respective groups at a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight daily for up to 17 days, and the researchers assessed a suite of biomarkers related to muscle regeneration – TNF-a, creatine kinase, and lactate dehydrogenase.
 
The researchers observed that the mice in the Gremin group exhibited significantly reduced levels of lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase enzyme biomarkers, suggesting potential muscle recovery.
 
“Curcuma longa and green coffee bean extract have been shown earlier to have enormous impact as natural antioxidants. In this report, we have demonstrated that a novel therapeutic, Gremin, is better in the resolution of skeletal muscle injury as compared to the simple physical mixture of curcumin extract and green coffee bean extract.”
 
The researchers believe that curcumin and chlorogenic acid, the main bioactive component of green coffee bean extract, exerted synergistic benefits to muscle recovery in the test animals. While each of these compounds have been shown to exhibit beneficial effects in isolation, they noted that no prior studies have examined them in combination.
 
“Muscle repair and regeneration is a priority of athletes and active individuals who rely on being physically fit,” Shankaranarayanan Jeyakodi, Zeus Hygia co-founder and one of the study authors, said. “There are limited natural remedies for most common muscle soreness due to overuse, and minor injuries during regular exercises or workouts. Apart from vigorous exercise, even regular walking, jogging, and other physical activities may also cause muscle soreness/injuries. Chronic inflammation may lead to the destruction of muscles.”
 
“Gremin is positioned as a performance ingredient in the sports nutrition segment across all age groups and may accelerate muscle recovery along with improving stamina and exercise endurance,” Arunkanth Krishnakumar, Zeus Hygia co-founder and one of the study’s authors, added.
 
Zeus Hygia reports that Gremin was developed to provide the synergistic benefits of these two botanical extracts through embedding them in a hydrophilic matrix system in order to optimize the complex’s effectiveness. Additionally, the company reports that a successful clinical trial in healthy humans has been conducted and is pending publication in a peer-reviewed journal.