Benefits
Strength gains reported within 14 days in two sponsor-funded trials
In the 40-man trial (650 mg/day), bench press 1RM rose about 15% by day 14, from 42.9 kg to 49.4 kg, while the placebo group barely moved (44.45 to 44.60 kg). By week 8 the supplemented group was up 64% on bench press and 48% on leg press from its own baseline, versus 11% and 10% on placebo — gains of a size that is unusual for any supplement and that has never been reproduced by an independent group. In the larger 99-man trial the ultra-performance arm gained 44% on bench press (51.6 to 74.2 kg) and 28% on leg extension (68.6 to 88.0 kg) over 8 weeks. Those participants were previously untrained, a group that gains strength quickly from resistance training alone, so their raw percentage gains should not be read as the supplement's effect; the supplement-attributable difference at week 8 was 13.8 kg on bench press versus the matched placebo group.
Out-gained a double-volume exercise group in one trial
The 99-man trial used four arms: 425 mg plus one training set, 850 mg plus one set, placebo plus one set, and placebo plus two sets. At week 8 both supplemented arms out-lifted the double-set placebo group on leg extension and on total strength, and the 850 mg arm also out-lifted it on bench press by 9.9 kg (p = 0.010); the 425 mg arm did not (6.8 kg, p = 0.166). The caveat that matters: the double-set placebo group never significantly out-lifted the single-set placebo group at any time point, so doubling the exercise volume did not itself produce a measurable strength advantage in this study. That makes it a weak benchmark to be measured against. No biological marker was collected to explain the difference.
Free testosterone elevation and anabolic hormone support
In the 99-man trial the 850 mg arm's total testosterone rose 18% over 8 weeks (626 to 737 ng/dL) and free testosterone rose 38%; the 425 mg arm rose 15% and 31%. Both were significantly higher than the single-set placebo group, but neither was significantly different from the placebo group doing twice the exercise, so an unknown share of the change is a training effect rather than an ingredient effect. The 40-man trial found free testosterone up 17% against a slight decline on placebo, with cortisol down 21% from baseline. Two things to keep in mind: every participant started with normal testosterone (group means around 620 to 640 ng/dL), and no clinical outcome such as libido, mood or sexual function was measured alongside the hormone shift, so this is a blood marker moving, not a demonstrated hormonal benefit.
Endurance and time to exhaustion
Beyond strength, RipFACTOR® improved muscle endurance (repetitions to failure) and time to exhaustion — benefits relevant for both strength athletes seeking more reps and endurance athletes needing sustained output. The endurance data come from one trial each. In the 40-man trial treadmill time to exhaustion rose 24.9% versus 10.3% on placebo, though the two groups started unevenly (19.4 versus 22.4 minutes) and finished at essentially the same absolute time (24.2 versus 24.8 minutes), so the advantage rests on a baseline-adjusted analysis rather than on the supplemented men out-running the placebo men. In the 99-man trial, repetitions to failure improved on leg extension for both doses versus the single-set placebo group but for neither dose versus the double-exercise placebo group, and on bench press only the higher dose separated from placebo at all. The vascular and mitochondrial mechanism attributed to Mangifera indica bark comes from cell and animal work, not from either human trial.
Mechanism of action
Proposed mechanism: mTOR signalling and hormone balance, not measured in humans
This mechanism is inferred, not observed in people. Neither human trial measured muscle protein synthesis, mTOR, p70S6K, nitric oxide or reactive oxygen species; both papers say so explicitly. The mTOR and p70S6K claim traces to unpublished in vitro screens described by the developers, and to a 2026 cell-and-rat study from the manufacturer's own laboratory reporting PI3K/AKT/mTOR activation and protection against dexamethasone-induced muscle atrophy in rats. Mangiferin from Mangifera indica bark supports endothelial nitric oxide production and mitochondrial function in animal models. No study of this blend has examined Leydig cell function or testosterone biosynthesis, so that part of the explanation has no supporting data at all. Cortisol was measured: it fell about 21% from baseline in the 40-man trial, but in the 99-man trial it did not change significantly from baseline in any group and only differed between the 850 mg arm and the double-exercise placebo group. Calling any of this the explanation for the strength results would be getting ahead of the data.
Clinical trials
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 56-day trial of LI12542F6 / RipFACTOR (650 mg/day) in recreationally trained men. Outcomes: 1-RM bench and leg press, handgrip, cable pull-down reps, treadmill time to exhaustion, DEXA body composition, free testosterone, DHT, cortisol. (Rokkam et al., published 2023; registered CTRI/2016/05/006950)
40 recreationally trained men aged 18-40 (20 supplement, 20 placebo), 56 days, single site in Vijayawada, India. Funded by the manufacturer, Laila Nutraceuticals (grant LN/1254221).
At 650 mg/day for 56 days: bench press 1-RM +27.6 kg vs +5.0 kg on placebo, leg press +29.5 kg vs +5.7 kg, handgrip +13.6 kg vs +10.6 kg, cable pull-down reps +5.1 vs +2.6, treadmill time to exhaustion +4.8 min vs +2.3 min, lean mass +1.44 kg vs +0.02 kg, fat mass -0.97 kg vs -0.20 kg, free testosterone +17% vs a slight fall, cortisol -21%. DHT rose within the supplement group but the between-group difference was not significant. No adverse events, and haematology, liver, kidney and lipid values stayed within normal reference ranges (several markers, including creatinine, fasting glucose and ALT, did shift significantly from screening within one or both groups but remained normal). Limits: 20 per arm, single site, manufacturer-funded, diet uncontrolled by the authors' own admission, total testosterone never measured, men only. The strength gains reported here are far larger than resistance training plus any supplement would normally produce and have never been reproduced by an independent group.
56-day, four-arm, randomized, blinded trial comparing the blend at two doses plus one resistance-training set against placebo plus one set and placebo plus two sets. (Salter et al., 2024; registered CTRI/2018/12/016641)
120 previously untrained men aged 19-29 randomized, 99 completed (analyzed n = 26 / 25 / 25 / 23), comparing 425 mg or 850 mg/day of a water-dispersible blend plus one training set against placebo plus one set and placebo plus two sets. Conducted at the Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences, Bengaluru, India. Funded by General Nutrition Centre Inc. (grant LNGNCLI1254218); the first author is an employee of PLT Health Solutions, which sells the ingredient.
Versus the single-set placebo group at day 56, the 425 mg arm bench pressed 10.6 kg more and the 850 mg arm 13.8 kg more; leg extension was 8.2 and 9.8 kg higher; total strength 18.9 and 24.1 kg higher (all p < 0.05). Versus the double-set placebo group, both doses were ahead on leg extension and total strength, but only the 850 mg arm was ahead on bench press (9.9 kg, p = 0.010); the 425 mg arm was not (6.8 kg, p = 0.166). Total and free testosterone rose significantly versus the single-set placebo group but not versus the double-set placebo group. Cortisol did not change significantly from baseline in any group. Important context: the double-set placebo group was never significantly different from the single-set placebo group at any time point, so the intended positive control did not separate. Eight minor adverse events, evenly split between supplement and placebo, none serious. Industry-funded, single site, previously untrained men.