Chemi Nutra says patent on PA ingredient crowns years of research

06-Jan-2021 - Last updated on 06-Jan-2021 at 16:49 GMT

Chemi Nutra says its phosphatidic acid ingredient can support muscle strength gains and could have implications for battling sarcopenia in older consumers. ©Getty Images - iammotes

Ingredient developer Chemi Nutra says more than 20 years of research has been rewarded with a US patent on its Mediator PA ingredient for its ability to increase muscle size and strength. The patent award comes as the company celebrates its 20th anniversary.

The patent applies to Mediator PA’s ability to bolster strength and muscle size gains with resistance exercise in the absence of creatine. The patent application was bolstered with research into the ingredient that began in 1998, said Chase Hagerman, Chemi Nutra’s business director.

Ingredient's name hints at mechanism of action

Hagerman said the ingredient’s name points to its mechanism of action in relation to mTOR, or mechanistic target of rapamycin.

“‘Mediator’ itself is a play on the mechanism of action — it mediates or acts as an intermediary between amino acids and Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS). Specifically, supplemental Phosphatidic Acid (PA) effectively activates mTOR signaling, which turns on and manages Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS). As MPS takes the available amino acids from ingested proteins from meals, and via translation, uses these amino acids as genetic templates to reassemble from them new striated muscle. In simple terms, it benefits users with noticeable new muscle mass and strength gains, as well as fat mass loss,” Hagerman told NutraIngredients-USA.

Hagerman said Chemi Nutra plans to vigorously defend the patent in 2021. While Chemi Nutra’s customers will be granted royalty free rights to the patent, any generic PA suppliers making similar claims can expect to hear from the company, Hagerman said.

According to the company the science behind PA is current and supports the ingredient’s ability to accelerate muscle mass and strength gains faster than through the age-old, time tested way of working out in the gym for months and years in the pursuit of significant muscle and strength gains.

Ingredient can cross category boundaries

Hagerman said the ingredient can also play beyond the traditional bounds of sports nutrition, where consumers are seeking strength gains to aid in actual competitions.

“The desire for muscle mass, strength gains, and fat mass loss (which I like to refer as the “Trifecta of Fitness”) are not unique to athletes and gym rats. It’s no secret that most consumers want to look and perform better. I believe too many marketers overlook the aspect of vanity when it comes to consumer spending and lifestyle habits,” he said.

“This of course does not even account for the important application in health aging regarding sarcopenia (age related muscle loss) and dynapenia (age related strength loss),” Hagerman added.

“Sarcopenia can advance to frailty, loss in mobility, decreased activity levels, and sadly, to severe falls, injury, and even mortality. The fact is, physically inactive people can lose as much as 3–5 percent of their muscle mass per decade after age 30. So sarcopenia is not just an “old person’s” concern,” he concluded.

The new patent support for Mediator PA comes as Chemi Nutra celebrates its 20th year in business. Chemi Nutra is the US business unit of parent company Chemi S.p.A., a privately held nutraceutical and pharmaceutical company based in Milan, Italy, which has manufacturing sites in Italy, Brazil and Malta.