Class Action Alleges Nutrabolt’s Xtend BCAA Supplements Do Not Support Muscle Growth, Recovery

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A proposed class action claims the Xtend BCAA dietary supplements made by Woodbolt Distribution, doing business as Nutrabolt, do not support muscle growth and recovery and can in fact harm muscle protein synthesis. 

Filed in New York’s Western District, the case says that although the defendant markets its Xtend branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) product as able to support muscle growth and recovery, independent, peer-reviewed research shows BCAA supplements actually decrease muscle protein synthesis and are wholly incapable of building muscle on their own.

The complaint cites Dr. Robert Wolf, an authority in the area of amino acid metabolism, who concluded consumption of BCAA supplements will negatively impact muscle protein synthesis given the products lack all essential amino acids (EAAs), the body’s building blocks for protein. The absence of a number of essential amino acids in a BCAA product cause essential amino acids stored in muscle to be perpetually catabolized, or broken down, the suit alleges. 

“To build muscle, the body must have an abundant availability of all EAAs, which must be consumed through the diet,” the complaint reads. “Anything less than a full panel of EAAs will grind any increase in muscle protein synthesis to a halt due to lack of sufficient raw materials with which the body can use to build muscle mass.” 

Given the defendant’s Xtend BCAA supplements contain only three of the nine essential amino acids, the product cannot, in fact, build muscle or support muscle recovery, the plaintiff alleges, stressing that use of the product may leave proposed class members “in a worse position than if not taking the product at all.” 

The specific Xtend BCAA supplements alleged in the case to provide none of the benefits touted by Nutrabolt include:

• Xtend Original BCAAs;
• Xtend Elite BCAAs;
• Xtend Hydrasport BCAAs;
• Xtend Ripped BCAAs;
• Xtend Energy BCAAs;
• Xtend Free BCAAs; and
• Xtend Hydration + BCAAs in ready-to-drink bottles. 

Muscle protein is comprised of 20 amino acids classified as either essential, non-essential or conditionally essential, the lawsuit explains. Nine of the 20 are known as “essential amino acids” in that they cannot be reproduced by the body in physiologically significant amounts and are therefore crucial components of a balanced diet, the suit says. The nine essential amino acids are called “branched-chain amino acids” due to their branched molecular structure, according to the complaint.

To reach an “anabolic state” in which muscle growth is achieved, muscle protein synthesis must be greater than the rate of protein breakdown, the case explains. For this to occur, the suit says, there must be an abundant availability of all essential amino acids. 

The issue with the defendant’s Xtend supplements, the case says, is that they contain BCAAs that are not complete proteins given they lack six of the nine essential amino acids.

The lawsuit contends Nutrabolt’s Xtend powder supplements are ultimately worthless given they actually reduce the rate of muscle protein synthesis and muscle protein turnover. 

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