The NOVOS Core clinical trial, which was peer-reviewed and published in European Heart Journal Open, tracked blood vessel function in generally healthy, non-smoking adults over 40 for six months, and three measures improved compared with placebo. Here is what each measure means, how much each one changed with NOVOS Core, and how strong the results are.
Quick Overview
- In a six-month randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 61 generally healthy, non-smoking adults aged 40 and over, NOVOS Core improved three vascular health markers compared with placebo.*
- Flow-mediated dilation (FMD), a measure of how well an artery widens when blood flow rises, rose 47% from baseline in the NOVOS Core group. Compared with placebo, the adjusted improvement was 2.9 percentage points. FMD was the trial’s main outcome.
- Pulse wave velocity (PWV), a measure of arterial flexibility, fell by 1.18 meters per second more than with placebo.
- Systolic blood pressure (SBP) fell by 6.1 mmHg more than with placebo.
- Cholesterol and other blood fats did not change.
The Three Measures, Explained
Each measure looks at a different part of how blood vessels work.
Flow-Mediated Dilation
FMD tests the inner lining of an artery. Researchers measure the main artery in the upper arm with ultrasound, inflate a cuff on the forearm for five minutes, then release it. The rush of blood signals the artery’s lining to release nitric oxide, and the artery widens. FMD is how much it widens, as a percentage of its starting width. A bigger number means a more responsive artery lining. Studies link lower FMD to more cardiovascular events over time.
Pulse Wave Velocity
PWV measures how quickly each heartbeat’s pressure wave travels along the arteries. A flexible artery absorbs part of the pulse, so the wave moves more slowly. A lower number means more flexible arteries. Large studies link faster PWV to more cardiovascular events.
Systolic Blood Pressure
SBP is the top number in a blood pressure reading: the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats. Systolic pressure typically rises with age. In this trial, participants’ average started within the normal range, and lower was the favorable direction.
What Changed Over Six Months
The headline results compare the change in the NOVOS Core group with the change in the placebo group. Subtracting the placebo group’s change removes shifts that happened in both groups for reasons unrelated to the supplement.
Here is what each group did on average, from the start of the trial to six months, among the participants analyzed:
- FMD: NOVOS Core rose from 5.5% to 8.1%; placebo went from 4.8% to 4.7%.
- PWV: NOVOS Core fell from 9.2 to 8.2 m/s; placebo rose from 8.6 to 9.2 m/s.
- SBP: NOVOS Core fell from 128 to 119.5 mmHg; placebo went from 125 to 123.5 mmHg.
After statistical adjustment for each person’s starting value, the differences between the groups were +2.9 percentage points for FMD, −1.18 m/s for PWV, and −6.1 mmHg for SBP. All three were statistically significant, meaning they were unlikely to be due to chance alone.
The FMD difference was almost three times the 1-point change the trial was designed to detect. The placebo group’s PWV rose over the six months, so its arteries became slightly less flexible, while the NOVOS Core group’s became more flexible.
FMD also changed quickly. One hour after the first serving, it was 3.9 percentage points higher than with placebo. The six-month measurements were taken in a fasted state, about 24 hours after each participant’s last serving, so they weren’t a same-day effect of that morning’s serving.
What Didn’t Change
Total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and triglycerides didn’t change significantly. Neither did diastolic blood pressure, the bottom number, or augmentation index, another reading taken from the pulse wave. Because blood fats didn’t change, the improvements in these vascular health markers didn’t come from lower cholesterol.
How the Results Compare
These are not head-to-head comparisons. They set the NOVOS Core results next to separate published meta-analyses of exercise trials, with different designs, lengths, and measurement conditions. We only included meta-analyses that reported results for generally healthy adults or adults with normal blood pressure, and for each one we used that group’s result, not the overall pooled value, so the comparison is as close as possible to the NOVOS Core participants. They give a sense of the scale of the effects observed.
- FMD: Aerobic exercise improved FMD by about 1.2 percentage points and resistance training by about 2.1, compared with 2.9 for NOVOS Core.
- PWV: Moderate aerobic exercise lowered PWV by about 0.6 m/s, compared with 1.18 m/s for NOVOS Core.
- SBP: Aerobic exercise lowered systolic pressure by about 4.0 mmHg and resistance training by about 2.9 mmHg, compared with 6.1 mmHg for NOVOS Core.
Because NOVOS Core and exercise were never tested in the same trial, these numbers can’t show which works better. They also don’t make NOVOS Core a substitute for exercise, which builds strength and fitness in ways these three measures don’t capture.
See also: NOVOS Core Cardiovascular Research
How Strong Are the Results?
Several features of the trial’s design make its results stronger:
- It was randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled. Neither the participants nor the researchers knew who was taking NOVOS Core, which keeps expectations from shaping the results.
- University of Surrey researchers ran the trial. It passed peer review at European Heart Journal Open, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology.
- The main outcome, FMD, was set before the trial began. All three vascular health markers improved together.
Like any single trial, this one has limits. It was small: 61 people were randomized, and 43 had measurements at both the start and six months. It measured three vascular health markers over six months, so it cannot show long-term health outcomes, and it studied generally healthy adults aged 40 and over. With 12 ingredients in NOVOS Core, it also can’t say which ones produced the effect. NOVOS funded the study, and one of the seven authors is a NOVOS employee.
Larger and longer studies are the next step, and NOVOS is evaluating follow-up studies of NOVOS Core in muscle function, brain and cognition, and skin.
Ready to try NOVOS Core for yourself? We are all our own study of one, so give it the same six months the trial did.
See also: NOVOS Core Clinical Trial Results
FAQ About the NOVOS Core Trial Results
What does “placebo-adjusted” mean?
It means the result is the change in the NOVOS Core group minus the change in the placebo group, adjusted for each person’s starting value. Both groups were measured the same way, so the difference shows the effect of the supplement itself.
What is a good FMD score?
There’s no single cutoff that applies to everyone, because FMD varies with age and with how it’s measured.
The trial set 6.5% as its cutoff for optimal FMD before the study began. The NOVOS Core group’s average rose from 5.5% at the start to 8.1% at six months, while the placebo group’s stayed at about 4.8%.
Did everyone in the NOVOS Core group improve?
Of the 23 people in the NOVOS Core group with complete data on all three measures, 22 improved on at least two of them. “Improved” means the reading moved in the favorable direction by any amount, and the same count wasn’t reported for the placebo group.
Will I be able to feel these changes?
Not exactly. The trial measured these vascular health markers with ultrasound, pulse wave equipment, and blood pressure readings, and changes in these measures don’t usually come with sensations you’d notice. Separately, NOVOS says many customers report subtle changes in clarity and energy in the first few days. Blood pressure is the one trial measure you can check yourself, with a home monitor. Our guide to taking NOVOS Core the way the trial did covers dosing and timing.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Journal names are given for reference only and do not imply endorsement by the journals, their publishers, or the European Society of Cardiology.
