Science & Research
Welcome to the CATALYST Science & Research page.
Here you’ll find clear, plain-English descriptions of each ingredient’s role in the body, paired with concise summaries of the key research studies behind them. Dive in to see the transparent, science-based rationale for every component of our formula.
Important Disclaimer:
This page provides an educational overview of each ingredient’s biological role and key research findings. All study results refer only to the specific compounds, doses and formulations tested—not to Catalyst’s finished blend, which has not been evaluated in human clinical trials for these endpoints.
Written in accordance with UK CAP Code Section 15 on food supplements and the Great Britain Nutrition & Health Claims Register.
Powerful Ingredients
Calming & Parasympathetic Activation
Panax Ginseng Extract — Dose: TBD
Mechanism – How it works
Calming inflammation and cell stress: Ginsenosides in Panax ginseng help dial down the body’s inflammatory reactions and strengthen its own antioxidant defence system (via the Nrf2 pathway), while also mopping up harmful free radicals before they can damage cells. PubMed
Regulating stress hormone balance: Compounds in ginseng fine-tune the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis—the body’s stress-control centre—helping to keep cortisol levels more even during and after intense exercise or other stressors. PMC
Research Highlight
In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, participants consumed 200 mg of Panax ginseng extract (prepared via red-ginseng steaming process) immediately after high-intensity anaerobic exercise. Compared with placebo, those taking ginseng showed significantly lower blood lactate levels at 30 and 60 minutes into recovery and reduced ammonia at 30 minutes, suggesting faster clearance of fatigue-related metabolites. PMC
Lemon Balm Extract — Dose: TBD
Mechanism – How it works
After a demanding workout, your brain can go into overdrive—lemon balm helps it “wind down” and protects cells from stress:
Boosting calming neurotransmitter (GABA)
Rosmarinic acid slows the breakdown of GABA, a natural “brake” on nerve signals, leaving more of this calming messenger available to help you relax. PubMed
Supporting GABA receptor action
Compounds in lemon balm gently bind to the same receptors GABA uses, further promoting a sense of calm alertness. PubMed
Protecting brain cells from stress
Rosmarinic acid and related polyphenols mop up harmful free radicals and switch on the body’s own antioxidant defences, shielding neurons from exercise-induced oxidative stress. PMC
Research Highlight
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study, healthy adults who consumed a drink containing 300 mg of lemon balm extract reported significantly lower anxiety at both 1 hour and 3 hours after drinking, and showed a smaller rise in cortisol compared with placebo. PMC
Vitamin B6 — Dose: TBD
Mechanism – How it works
Helps turn nutrients into energy
Your body’s active form of B6 (PLP) is required by enzymes that break down stored carbs (glycogen) and amino acids, so your muscles can refill their energy tanks after a workout. PMC
Supports mood and calm
PLP-dependent enzymes convert building blocks into key brain messengers—serotonin (the “feel-good” compound) and GABA (the natural nerve “brake”)—helping your mind stay balanced after intense training. PMC
Aids healthy red blood cells
B6 is needed for the first step in making heme (the oxygen-carrying part of haemoglobin), supporting the production of red blood cells that deliver oxygen to your muscles. EFSA
Research Highlight
In a study of healthy adults who ran on a treadmill for two hours at 60–65% of their maximal oxygen uptake, plasma levels of pyridoxal-5′-phosphate (PLP)—the active form of vitamin B6—increased by 20–35% immediately after exercise, even when accounting for plasma volume shifts. This rise indicates that vitamin B6 is mobilised during and after intense activity to support critical enzyme reactions, such as glycogen breakdown and amino-acid metabolism. NCBI
Magnesium Bisglycinate — Dose: TBD
Mechanism – How it works
Energy conversion support: Magnesium is required for the activity of over 300 enzymes that convert nutrients into cellular energy (ATP) in your muscles, helping them refuel and recover after exercise. NIH
Balancing fluids and electrolytes: Once inside your cells, magnesium teams up with sodium and potassium to keep water moving properly across cell walls, supporting healthy muscle contractions and steady nerve signalling. NIH
Supporting muscle and nerve health: Magnesium helps muscles relax after each contraction and ensures nerves fire correctly, which can lower cramp risk and aid smoother recovery. NIH
Gentle, efficient absorption: Bound to glycine, this bisglycinate form slips through intestinal transporters more easily and is less likely to upset your stomach than some other magnesium salts. PMC
Research Highlight
In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, athletes supplementing with approximately 250 mg elemental magnesium daily for four weeks experienced significantly reduced delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and lower post-exercise serum creatine kinase levels —a marker of muscle damage—after eccentric exercise compared with placebo. PMC
L-Theanine — Dose: TBD
Mechanism – How it works
When your mind is coming down from physical or mental stress, L-Theanine can lend a hand by:
Boosting calming brain chemicals
L-Theanine easily crosses the blood–brain barrier and helps raise levels of GABA (a natural “brake” on over-active neurons), while also gently balancing dopamine and serotonin—neurotransmitters linked to mood and focus. ScienceDirect
Promoting relaxed alertness
EEG studies show L-Theanine increases alpha-wave activity in the brain, the same pattern you see when you’re awake but mentally calm—helping you stay clear-headed without drowsiness. PMC
Research Highlight
In a randomised, triple-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial of 16 healthy adults, a single 200 mg dose of a standardised L-Theanine extract (AlphaWave®) led to significantly increased frontal‐region alpha‐wave activity —an EEG marker of relaxed alertness— and reduced self-reported state anxiety versus placebo in response to an acute mental stress task. PMC
Taurine (Vegan) — Dose: TBD
Mechanism – How it works
Maintaining muscle hydration
Taurine helps muscle cells hold onto water and keep their shape when they’re under stress during and after exercise. PMC
Calming inflammation & protecting cells
It supports your immune cells in dialling down inflammatory signals and mopping up harmful free radicals generated by intense workouts. PMC
Supporting membrane stability & calcium balance
Taurine strengthens cell membranes and helps regulate calcium flow in muscle fibres, ensuring smooth contractions and lowering the risk of calcium-related damage. Frontiers
Research Highlight
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, endurance cyclists who took 6 g of taurine daily for seven days around a 60-minute exhaustive cycling session had about 25 % lower blood levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS)—a marker of oxidative stress—compared with placebo, suggesting reduced exercise-induced cell damage. Frontiers
Magnesium L-Threonate — Dose: TBD
Mechanism – How it works
Boosting brain magnesium levels
This specialised form of magnesium crosses into the brain more effectively than other supplements, raising magnesium concentrations in the fluid around your nerve cells and inside the neurons themselves—changes linked in animal studies to better memory and learning. PMC
Supporting brain cell connections
With higher magnesium inside neurons, research shows the tiny bridges (synapses) that let nerve cells communicate become stronger, which is tied to improved learning and memory in preclinical models. Cell
Research Highlight
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 102 healthy adults (ages 18–65) in China, those who took 2 g/day of a magnesium L-threonate–based formula (Magtein®PS, also containing phosphatidylserine and vitamins C, D and B6) for 30 days showed significant improvements in all five subtests of the Clinical Memory Test and in overall memory-quotient scores versus placebo—older participants saw even larger gains. PMC
Inflammation & Oxidative-Stress Control
Curcumin — Dose: TBD
Mechanism – How it works
Dampening muscle “alarm signals”: Curcumin helps turn down the inflammatory messages your muscles send after intense exercise, which can otherwise lead to soreness and swelling. PMC
Neutralising free radicals: It acts like a molecular sponge, soaking up unstable free radicals that can damage cells and prolong recovery. PMC
Maintaining training benefits: Research indicates that curcumin’s targeted anti-inflammatory action may manage exercise-induced inflammation without hindering—and may even enhance—long-term training adaptations, similar to NSAIDs but without their side effects. ResearchGate
Research Highlight
In a trial of 24 healthy men who took 180 mg/day of a specific curcumin extract (Theracurmin®) for four days after an eccentric exercise session, those in the curcumin group reported significantly less muscle soreness between days 3 and 6, had smaller rises in creatine kinase (a marker of muscle damage), and improved elbow joint range of motion more quickly (days 3–7) compared with placebo. Waseda University
Astaxanthin — Dose: TBD
Mechanism – How it works
Protects cell membranes
Astaxanthin embeds itself in the walls of your cells and captures reactive oxygen species (unstable molecules that can damage cells), helping to keep muscle and nerve cells healthy after a tough workout. Frontiers
Boosts your natural antioxidant defences
It activates the body’s own antioxidant pathways—like glutathione and superoxide dismutase—so your cells can clean up stress-related free radicals more efficiently. MDPI
Supports your immune system during recovery
Four weeks of astaxanthin supplementation have been shown to prevent the usual drop in key immune proteins (such as immunoglobulins) that often follows intense exercise, helping you stay resilient as you recover. PMC
Research Highlight
In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial, resistance-trained men who took 12 mg of astaxanthin each day for four weeks reported significantly less muscle soreness following an eccentric exercise session, while their strength performance remained the same as placebo. MDPI
Muscle Preservation & Growth Signalling
L-Arginine — Dose: TBD
Mechanism – How it works
Supporting nitric oxide production: Your body uses L-Arginine as a building block for the enzyme eNOS, which makes nitric oxide (NO)—a molecule that signals blood vessels to relax and widen. PubMed
Improving circulation: Wider vessels mean more blood can flow to working and recovering muscles, delivering oxygen and nutrients and carrying away waste products more efficiently. PubMed
Research Highlight
In trained athletes, taking L-Arginine after endurance exercise led to higher blood glucose and insulin levels across the following two-hour recovery period compared with no L-Arginine. This suggests that post-workout arginine may help boost nutrient delivery and support muscle glycogen resynthesis. BioMed Central
L-Glycine — Dose: TBD
Mechanism – How it works
After intense exercise, your body taps glycine for three key “support” roles:
Building blocks for connective tissue
Glycine makes up nearly one-third of collagen’s amino acids, so having enough helps your body assemble strong tendon, ligament and muscle‐supporting fibers. MDPI
Fueling muscle energy (creatine synthesis)
In your muscles, an enzyme teams glycine with arginine to kick off creatine production—a molecule that rapidly regenerates cellular energy (ATP) during hard work. PubMed
Natural calming messenger
Glycine itself acts in the spinal cord and brainstem as a brake on over-excited nerves, helping neurons settle down and promoting better relaxation and sleep quality. PubMed
Research Highlight
In a randomised, double-blind crossover trial, participants ingested 3 g of glycine before bedtime for four consecutive nights. Compared with placebo, glycine significantly improved subjective sleep quality scores. Those taking glycine reported about 20% higher sleep quality scores, fell asleep faster, and spent more time in deep (slow-wave) sleep on polysomnography measurements. SpringerLink
Electrolyte Replenishment & Hydration
Potassium Citrate — Dose: TBD
Mechanism – How it works
Maintaining hydration: Potassium acts like an internal water manager, drawing fluid into your cells to help keep you properly hydrated after heavy sweating. NIH
Enabling muscle & nerve signals: The ebb and flow of potassium ions across cell membranes creates the electrical pulses that tell your muscles to contract and your nerves to fire. NIH
Helping balance blood pressure: Getting enough potassium supports your kidneys in flushing out excess sodium and helps relax blood vessels, contributing to the maintenance of normal blood pressure. NIH
Research Highlight
In a randomised, crossover study, volunteers who lost about 2% of their body weight through exercise rehydrated with fluids equal to 120% of their weight loss—either water, a sports drink, coconut water, or a potassium-rich formula. Over the following three hours, those drinking the potassium-rich formula produced significantly less urine (about 300 mL less) compared with water, indicating improved fluid retention. PubMed
Pink Himalayan Salt — Dose: TBD
Mechanism – How it works
After a sweaty workout, you lose both water and sodium, an essential mineral that helps your body hold onto fluids and fire up your nerves and muscles:
Hydration & fluid balance:
Sodium acts like a magnet for water, pulling it into your bloodstream and cells to keep you hydrated, maintain blood volume, and support healthy blood pressure. NCBI
Nerve signals & muscle contractions:
The movement of sodium in and out of cell membranes generates the electrical impulses that tell your nerves when to fire and your muscles (including your heart) when to contract. NCBI
Research Highlight
In randomized crossover studies where participants lost about 2% of their body weight through exercise-induced sweating, rehydrating with a high-sodium drink (containing roughly 920–1,150 mg of sodium per litre) helped restore normal blood sodium levels more quickly, reduced urine output by 20% over 4 hours following rehydration, and better maintained muscle strength during recovery compared with low-sodium drinks or plain water. PMC
Calcium Lactate — Dose: TBD
Mechanism – How it works
Supporting muscle movement & nerve signals
Calcium is essential for your muscles to contract and for nerves to send messages between your brain and the rest of your body. ODS
Helping blood clotting
As “Factor IV,” calcium steps in at several points in the clotting cascade to turn blood from liquid into gel, ensuring that any workout-related cuts or scrapes stop bleeding properly. Healthline
Easy absorption
Calcium lactate dissolves readily in water and stomach acid, freeing up calcium ions that your intestines can take up efficiently—its absorption is as good as or better than many other calcium salts. ScienceDirect
Research Highlight
In a single-blind, placebo-controlled trial, resistance-trained adults supplemented with approximately 840 mg of elemental calcium daily (as amorphous calcium carbonate) for three weeks. Compared with placebo, they reported significantly less upper-body muscle soreness at both 96 and 120 hours after exercise, suggesting calcium’s role in easing post-exercise muscle discomfort. PMC
Calcium HMB Monohydrate
Mechanism – How it works
Protects muscle from breakdown
When you push your limits, HMB helps blunt the muscle-breakdown process by slowing the activity of proteins that tag muscle fibres for degradation—acting like a protective barrier for your muscle tissue. PLOS
Promotes muscle building
HMB switches on your cells’ muscle-growth machinery by activating a key pathway (mTORC1) that drives the production of new muscle proteins, supporting strength gains over time. PubMed
Supports muscle repair and regeneration
By encouraging muscle stem cells (satellite cells) to multiply and fuse with damaged fibres, HMB helps your muscles repair themselves and come back stronger after a tough workout. ResearchGate
Research Highlight
In a randomized, double-blind trial of 20 resistance-trained men, participants who took 3 g of a free-acid form of HMB (HMB-FA) immediately before and for 48 hours after a high-volume resistance workout showed a much smaller increase in serum creatine kinase—a marker of muscle damage—and maintained higher perceived recovery scores over the two days following exercise compared with placebo. PubMed
Digestive Health & Nutrient Uptake
Inulin Powder — Dose: TBD
Mechanism – How it works
Feeding your gut bacteria: Inulin passes through your small intestine intact and arrives in the colon, where friendly microbes ferment it into short-chain fatty acids (like acetate, propionate and butyrate). These fatty acids nourish colon cells, strengthen the gut lining and help keep inflammation in check. PubMed
Growing beneficial microbes: Regular intake of 5–7.5 g/day of inulin has been shown to boost populations of Bifidobacterium and other good bacteria by 3- to 4-fold, shifting your gut ecosystem toward a healthier balance. PubMed
Supporting recovery from within: By improving mineral and amino-acid absorption and driving the anti-inflammatory effects of short-chain fatty acids, inulin can indirectly help your body recover after exercise and support overall well-being. PMC
Research Highlight
In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial of 29 healthy adults, consuming 5–7.5 g of agave-derived inulin daily for 21 days boosted populations of Actinobacteria and Bifidobacterium in the gut by three- to fourfold and increased stool butyrate levels—an indicator of healthier microbial activity—compared with control periods. PubMed
Recovery, Reimagined
Each ingredient in CATALYST has been meticulously chosen to support your body’s recovery process, reduce stress, and enhance performance. Whether you’re looking to boost muscle growth, reduce inflammation, improve sleep, or manage stress, CATALYST’s scientifically-formulated blend of ingredients works together to help you achieve faster, more effective recovery, allowing you to push harder and recover smarter.