A South American shrub whose leaf extract modestly lowers body weight, waist size and blood pressure, and raises protective cholesterol — mostly tested blended with hibiscus flower. Separate trials show better-rated sleep, less perceived stress, and less muscle damage after hard training. Safety looks quiet up to three months. Much of that evidence comes from the companies selling the ingredient. (Full Review)
| Marker | Target | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Seated blood pressure | 110-120 / 70-80 mmHg | Tracks the best-evidenced benefit and the main risk simultaneously |
| Body weight and waist circumference | Waist below half of height | Primary endpoint of the metabolic protocol |
| Body-fat percentage | 10-20% men, 18-28% women | Distinguishes fat loss from lean-mass loss during appetite suppression |
| Total cholesterol and HDL-C | Total below 200 mg/dL; HDL-C above 60 mg/dL | The pooled lipid effect acts on exactly these two fractions |
| Fasting glucose | 75-85 mg/dL | Pooled analysis found no glucose effect, so drift signals something else |
| Glycated hemoglobin | Below 5.4% | Confirms the absent glucose signal over three months rather than one morning |
| High-sensitivity CRP | Below 0.5 mg/L | The one inflammation marker that moved in a lemon verbena trial |
| ALT and AST | ALT 10-26 U/L, AST 10-26 U/L | Organ safety for a concentrated botanical with no long-term data |
| Creatinine and eGFR | eGFR above 90 mL/min/1.73 m² | Addresses the traditional renal-irritation caution and metabolite clearance |
| Ferritin | 50-100 ng/mL men, 40-80 ng/mL women | The iron-chelation risk is the one nutrient interaction with a real mechanism |
| Creatine kinase | Below 200 U/L at rest | Recovery-protocol endpoint; the marker two trials disagreed on |
| Morning cortisol | 10-15 mcg/dL at 7-8 a.m. | The proposed stress mechanism; fell 15.6% in one trial and not at all in another |
Cadence: Blood pressure daily for the first four weeks, then weekly. Questionnaires, weight and waist repeat at 4 and 8 weeks. Bloods repeat at 12 weeks, then every 6 to 12 months on continued use.