The Certified for Sports Grade seal comes from the third-party certifier Banned Substances Control Group (BSCG), which tests for 483 drugs in total, 272 of which are drugs that have been banned by a broad range of sports organizations.
PLT’s manufacturing partner, Spanish company Nektium Pharma, has established an plan with BSCG to test and certify materials sold as Sports Grade. According to a press release by PLT, this will make RhodioLife the first sports certified rhodiola available in the country.
This additional testing comes on top of existing third-party ingredient identity verification that Nektium and PLT performs on it rhodiola ingredients, first conducted in 2017 because of global shortages paired with rampant adulteration, sometimes accidental, in the rhodiola trade.
“Today, Nektium and PLT maintain a steady supply of Rhodiola rosea sustainably harvested and sourced from Russia's Altai Mountains,” according to PLT’s press release.
"RhodioLife's unique ‘fingerprint’ composition consistently provides the spectrum of compounds found in the root of the plant that is responsible for its biological activity - including rosavin, rosarin, rosin and salidroside,” said Devin Stagg, Chief Operating Officer of PLT Health Solutions.
“With RhodioLife, not only is the percentage of the primary actives – rosavin and salidroside – the same as the root, but so is the ratio of actives. This is not the case with many other Rhodiola rosea ingredients on the market," he argued.
"This new Certified Sports Grade is another way we are responding to the need for trustable transparency, particularly for companies that market into the active and sports nutrition market.”
Rhodiola market
In recent years, rhodiola has appeared in more finished products thanks to consumer interest in nootropics and adaptogens. Consumption of compounds from the plant has been linked to improvements in anxiety, stress, and mood.
The latest numbers from the American Botanical Council’s HerbalGram, which tracks sales of herbal supplements in multiple retail channels, noted a 8.1% year-over-year increase for Rhodiola from calendar years 2016 to 2017. Total sales for Rhodiola in multiple retail channels is estimated at $10,912,343.