- In a clinical trial, those taking a multi-ingredient nutritional supplement known as NOVOS Core showed improvements in endothelial function in as little as 1 hour within taking the first dose.
- After 6 months, systolic blood pressure was 6.1 mmHg lower in the supplement group compared with the placebo group, based on the adjusted between-group difference.
- Participants taking the supplement showed a 1.18 m/s difference in pulse wave velocity compared with the placebo group, which indicates reduced arterial stiffness.
- However, larger, longer-term studies are necessary to establish whether these improvements translate into reduced cardiovascular disease risk or meaningful long-term health benefits.
Blood vessel health markers, such as endothelial function, or the ability of blood vessels to regulate blood flow and respond to physiological demands, and pulse wave velocity, a measure of arterial stiffness, can provide important insights into cardiovascular health.
Impaired endothelial function and increased arterial stiffness are associated with higher cardiovascular risk, as they can reflect early vascular dysfunction and contribute to elevated blood pressure and increased cardiac strain. Improvements in these markers may indicate a more favorable cardiovascular health profile.
Now, the results of a 6-month clinical trial suggest that a nutritional supplement designed to target multiple biological processes associated with aging may improve certain measures of cardiovascular health, such as blood vessel function, arterial stiffness, and systolic blood pressure.
The study, published in European Heart Journal Open, investigated whether taking NOVOS Core, a multi-component supplement containing 12 vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and plant-derived bioactive compounds, could influence markers of vascular health.
Participants taking the supplement showed improvements in blood vessel function and blood pressure compared with those receiving a placebo. However, larger studies are needed to determine whether these changes translate into long-term health benefits.
How might a supplement targeting aging affect cardiovascular health?
The randomized controlled trial was conducted by researchers at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom. It involved 61 participants, with 33 assigned to receive NOVOS Core and 28 to receive a placebo. Participants took their assigned supplement once daily for 6 months.
The manufacturers of NOVOS Core state that it is a multi-component supplement developed to target several processes associated with aging simultaneously. NOVOS Core includes 12 bioactive compounds:
- vitamin C
- calcium Alpha-Ketoglutarate
gisetin - ginger root extract
- glucosamine sulfate
- glycine
- hyaluronic acid
- L-theanine
- magnesium malate
- lithium aspartate
- pterostilbene
- rhodiola rosea root extract
Aging involves multiple interacting biological processes that
“I think the most interesting finding is that targeting several biological processes associated with aging simultaneously was accompanied by measurable improvements in several complementary markers of vascular health,” study author Christian Heiss, FESC FRCP FRSM, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Surrey, told Medical News Today.
“After six months, we saw improvements in endothelial function, arterial stiffness and systolic blood pressure compared with control. This provides an initial proof of concept that a multi-component approach may influence vascular aging, although this was a relatively small study and we measured biomarkers rather than clinical cardiovascular events.”
—Christian Heiss, study author
What did the clinical trial find?
As such, the researchers investigated whether the supplement could influence three measures of vascular health: endothelial function, systolic blood pressure, and arterial stiffness.
Improved endothelial function
The supplement group showed improvements in flow-mediated dilation. This measures how well a blood vessel expands in response to increased blood flow. The researchers detected a change within 1 hour of the first dose, while measurements in the control group remained largely unchanged.
These findings suggest that the supplement may influence blood vessel function, although the study does not establish which ingredients were responsible for the observed effects.
Lower systolic blood pressure
The researchers also observed a difference in systolic blood pressure between the two groups after 6 months. The adjusted difference between the supplement and placebo groups was 6.1 millimeters of mercury (mmHg), favoring the supplement group. A difference was also observed within an hour of the first dose.
For context, previous large studies have associated a sustained reduction of approximately 5 mmHg in systolic blood pressure with a roughly 10% reduction in major cardiovascular events.
However, this comparison should be interpreted cautiously. Because the trial did not measure cardiovascular events, it cannot establish whether the observed improvements in vascular health markers translate into a reduced risk of heart attack or stroke.
“The rapid response suggests that at least part of the effect may reflect an acute change in vascular function rather than structural changes in the arteries,” Heiss noted.
“Several ingredients in the formulation have been linked individually to pathways affecting endothelial nitric oxide availability, vascular tone and related mechanisms. However, our study was not designed to identify which ingredient or biological pathway was responsible, so the mechanism remains a hypothesis that now needs to be tested directly.”
—Christian Heiss, study author
“Our next step is to test whether the molecular pathways targeted by the intervention were actually affected,” Heiss added.
Reduced arterial stiffness
The supplement group also showed a reduction in arterial stiffness after 6 months.
Researchers assessed this using pulse wave velocity, which measures how quickly pressure waves travel through the arteries. Higher pulse wave velocity generally indicates stiffer arteries. The adjusted difference between the groups was 1.18 meters per second (m/s), favoring the supplement group.
Although the findings suggest a potentially beneficial change in this measure, further research is needed to determine its clinical significance.
What are the limitations of the study?
Although the findings are encouraging, several limitations are important to consider.
First, the study involved only 61 participants. Larger trials will help researchers determine whether the findings can be replicated in broader populations and whether the effects vary between individuals.
Second, the trial assessed cardiovascular biomarkers rather than clinical outcomes. Improvements in endothelial function, arterial stiffness, or blood pressure do not necessarily mean that a person will experience fewer heart attacks, strokes, or other cardiovascular complications.
Third, the study does not establish which individual ingredients, or combinations of ingredients, were responsible for the observed changes. Additional research will be necessary to clarify the biological mechanisms involved.
The findings also do not establish the supplement’s long-term safety or effectiveness beyond the 6-month study period. Further research will help clarify whether the results are reproducible, how long any effects persist, and whether the supplement offers benefits beyond established approaches to cardiovascular risk reduction.
Additionally, it is worth noting that the study received funding from NOVOS Labs, the manufacturers of the supplement.
Can nutritional supplements improve cardiovascular health?
The results provide preliminary evidence that a nutritional supplement designed to target multiple aging-related processes may influence several cardiovascular health markers.
However, the study does not establish that the supplement slows biological aging, prevents cardiovascular diseases, or can replace established treatments for high blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors.
Heiss noted that people should be cautious when interpreting the study results:
“We showed improvements in markers of vascular health and cardiovascular risk, not that the supplement prevents heart attacks, strokes or aging itself.”
“These findings are encouraging and justify more research, including larger and longer studies, but they should not be interpreted as a substitute for established measures such as not smoking, physical activity, a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and appropriate treatment of blood pressure and cholesterol,” he cautioned.
“(I) think the interesting question raised by this study is not simply whether one particular supplement ‘works’, but whether addressing several interacting biological processes involved in aging at the same time can produce meaningful physiological effects.”
—Christian Heiss, study author
Heiss said one reason to combine multiple ingredients in one supplement would be to target a problem from several angles at once — ie. using smaller doses of each compound, instead of one large dose of a single ingredient. However, I have stressed that larger studies are still needed to prove whether this approach is safer or causes fewer side effects.
“The next step is to understand the underlying mechanisms and determine whether the changes we observed are sustained and ultimately translate into better long-term health outcomes,” he concluded.
