Mental health is a matter of increased concern lately, where our hectic lifestyle and the consequences of the current pandemic has taken a real toll. This has caused a global rise of stress, which is a natural part of life, but when it prolongs in time it can have negative consequences on our health, giving rise to depression, drug abuse, cardiovascular disease, worker burnout and sleep disorders. In fact, recent studies have shown that all these conditions have risen dramatically, affecting all aspects of our daily lives.
Regarding sleep and stress, these two conditions commonly occur together. When someone is continuously stressed, this eventually affects their quality of sleep. Therefore, whenever an individual looks for solutions for low sleep quality, it is important to understand the origin of this condition, and if stress is the cause, then it must be treated together or before treating sleep.
There are many synthetic drugs to help treat sleep and stress, mainly in the form of antidepressants and barbiturates. Unfortunately, they come at a high cost, both financially as well as physically, as the majority have important side effects and cause dependency. Therefore, there is a growing demand for natural solutions, and thankfully this can be found in a number of plants. One of these plants is the lemon verbena or lemon beebrush (Lippia citriodora, also known as Aloysia citriodora). This plant native of South America was brought to Europe during the XVIth century, where since then has found a home in the Mediterranean region and Middle East. Lemon verbena leaves are traditionally used in teas and beverages both for its taste as well as its attributed health properties. These include treating fever, digestive discomfort, antimicrobial effect, as well as insomnia and anxiety.
The lemon verbena leaves are rich in polyphenols, being verbascoside one of its most abundant. Verbascoside, also known as acteoside, can be found in several medicinal plants besides lemon verbena, including common vervain (Verbena officinalis) and olive (Olea europae). It is a phenylpropanoid with demonstrated antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Furthermore, studies have shown that verbascoside is capable of promoting sleep and alleviating anxiety in mice. The mechanism by which it exerts this effect seems to reside in the binding of verbascoside to neural GABA-A receptors. GABA-A receptors respond to GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) binding, which is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the nervous system. GABA can also be found as a dietary supplement to promote stress relief. Certain drugs such as benzodiazepines bind to the same receptor, which are generally used to reduce anxiety and promote sleep. Verbascoside binds to the same sites as benzodiazepines, thereby conferring a similar effect.
Despite its well-known traditional properties, few studies have been performed to clinically demonstrate lemon verbena´s effects on promoting relaxation and sleep. Also, the few studies that exist generally use patient questionnaires to validate the effects, which can possess a certain level of subjectiveness. Therefore, we have developed a highly-purified lemon verbena extract standardized in verbascoside called RelaxPLX. This extract was analyzed clinically on subjects with high levels of perceived stress and low sleep quality.
A double-blind, placebo-controlled study was designed. The subjects were instructed to take 1 capsule per day, 1-2 hours before sleeping. Each capsule contained 400 mg of either the placebo or RelaxPLX. The study lasted 8 weeks, with data inputs at the beginning of the study, at 4 weeks and the end. The novelty of the study resides on the use of both validated questionnaires and biomarkers to confirm and corroborate the effect of the ingredient. For stress assessment, subjects were given a validated questionnaire and cortisol was assessed. Cortisol is known as the stress hormone, and high levels in blood or saliva generally indicates a high level of stress. As for sleep quality, again a validated questionnaire was used, and activity trackers were provided to the subjects to be worn during the first, fourth and eighth week of the study. These activity trackers are capable of measuring the amount of time the user is asleep, as well as the number of times they awake during the night, as well as the duration in the different sleep stages. Finally, another novelty in this study was that both questionnaires for sleep and stress were filled out by the subjects one month after the study, to discern if RelaxPLX could have an everlasting effect.
With respect to stress, the study demonstrated that the subjects taking RelaxPLX perceived less stress throughout time, with more noticeable effects after 2 months of intake. Surprisingly, their stress levels further decreased after the washout period, confirming that the ingredient´s effect could still be noticed for some time after stopping its intake. Regarding cortisol levels, this hormone decreased in the first month of intake, and dropped further still in the second month, confirming the perceived reduction of stress by the subjects taking RelaxPLX.
Regarding sleep, again we performed a validated questionnaire and analyzed sleep quality using activity trackers. In the questionnaire, we observed that the subjects perceived an improved quality of sleep starting at the first month of treatment, which continued improving up the end of the study. Also, as it occurred in the stress analysis, a further improvement was perceived after the washout period. Surprisingly, a stronger effect was observed in women, who perceived a significant improvement even in the first month of intake.
As for the activity tracker data, the most relevant differences detected were in the quality of sleep, but not quantity. In this context, those taking relaxPLX had fewer awakenings in the night, and improved their time in the deeper stages of sleep, particularly deep sleep and REM. Deep sleep is the stage where our physical recovery occurs, whereas REM is where our mental recovery begins, so improving these parameters allow for a stronger recovery, allowing the subjects to feel more refreshed and well rested.
In the end, what this translates to is that the consumers taking RelaxPLX feel less stressed during the day, and have better quality of sleep at night. Unlike other extracts or drugs, RelaxPLX is not a sleep inducer, so it does not have the negative effect of feeling sleepy during the day.
There are numerous benefits for choosing RelaxPLX in sleep and stress formulas. First of all, it presents a lower daily dosage compared to other botanicals with similar effects, allowing for easier formulation. Compared to other lemon verbena extracts in the market, it can be observed that RelaxPLX has the highest polyphenolic content, and is one of the most scientifically validated ingredients. Furthermore, there are two pending health claims in Europe for the benefits of lemon verbena in alleviating stress and improving sleep quality.
Regarding formulation possibilities, besides its low daily dosage, another advantage of RelaxPLX is that it is completely water soluble, and stable in many temperatures and formats. This allows to be included into many delivery formats, from capsules to tablets, gels, jellies, drinks and more.
Published study: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/1/218
Jonathan Jones, Ph.D. Chief Scientific Officer at Monteloeder S.L.
