Boostaro Ingredients: What Is in the Formula

An amino acid the body converts into L-arginine, the substrate the endothelium uses to make nitric oxide. Nitric oxide relaxes the muscle in vessel walls, which is the mechanism behind the bottle’s blood flow line.

The most directly relevant human trial on this panel. In a crossover study of 24 men with mild erectile dysfunction, Cormio and colleagues (Urology, 2011) gave 1.5 g a day for one month and reported a rise in erection hardness score in 12 of the 24, against 2 of 24 on placebo. Small, single-centre, and the authors called the effect modest. A review of blood pressure trials by Mirenayat and colleagues (2018) found reductions that were real, small and dose-dependent. Pharmacokinetic work by Schwedhelm and colleagues (2008) is why citrulline appears on panels like this one at all.

Caution. Talk to a doctor before use if you take a nitrate or any medicine for erectile dysfunction. Both work on the same nitric oxide pathway.

A standardised extract of French maritime pine bark, rich in procyanidins, and the ingredient on this panel whose reputation most outruns its evidence.

The trial usually quoted is Stanislavov and colleagues (Int J Impot Res, 2008), a randomised crossover study of pine bark plus L-arginine that reported improved erectile function scores. It was supplier-funded and tested a combination, so it cannot say what pine bark does alone. The broader picture is colder: a 2020 Cochrane review across 27 trials in 10 conditions found the evidence insufficient to support use for any chronic disorder. We print that here rather than on a page nobody reads.

Caution. A mild antiplatelet effect in some studies. If you take a blood thinner, this is one of three ingredients here your prescriber needs to know about.

A cofactor in collagen cross-linking, which is structural work in vessel walls, and in recycling the cofactor endothelial cells need to make nitric oxide.

A meta-analysis of randomised trials by Ashor and colleagues (Atherosclerosis, 2014) found vitamin C improved endothelial function in people with existing vascular disease or diabetes, and not in healthy people. The same group’s 2019 umbrella review was blunter still. The NIH fact sheet puts the adult male requirement at 90 mg a day, which two oranges cover.

Caution. Large doses can cause stomach upset and, in people prone to them, kidney stones. With no published amount, you cannot check your total against the 2,000 mg upper limit.

An essential amino acid: the body cannot make it and food has to supply it. A substrate for collagen cross-linking and for carnitine synthesis.

This is the weakest item on the panel for the purpose the bottle describes, and it is worth saying so plainly. L-lysine has no randomised trial record in circulatory or sexual function. Its supplement reputation comes from cold sores, where a 2015 Cochrane review of prevention interventions for herpes labialis did not find good evidence for it either. Lysine is a genuine nutrient and a sensible partner for vitamin C in collagen work, which is the likeliest reason it is here. That is a mechanism, not a finding.

Caution. No common interactions at dietary amounts. Anyone with kidney disease should ask a clinician before adding free amino acids to their diet.

A mineral involved in more than 300 enzyme reactions, including the ones that relax vascular smooth muscle. Many adults take in less than the recommended amount from food.

A meta-analysis of 34 double-blind trials by Zhang and colleagues (Hypertension, 2016) found a median 368 mg a day for three months lowered systolic pressure by about 2 mmHg. Small, consistent, dose-dependent. The NIH magnesium fact sheet gives the adult male requirement as 400 to 420 mg a day, with supplemental magnesium capped at 350 mg by its upper limit.

Caution. Magnesium reduces the absorption of some antibiotics and bisphosphonates if taken at the same time. Space them by two hours, and check with a pharmacist.

The menaquinone form of vitamin K. In vessels it activates matrix Gla protein, which inhibits calcium depositing in arterial walls.

The trial behind K2 on panels like this one is Knapen and colleagues (Thromb Haemost, 2015): 180 micrograms a day of menaquinone-7, 244 healthy postmenopausal women, three years, a small improvement in arterial stiffness. Three years, in women, at a published dose, and none of those three conditions is met by this bottle. The NIH vitamin K fact sheet is the plainest summary available.

Caution. Vitamin K directly opposes warfarin. If you take warfarin or any vitamin K antagonist, do not take this product without talking to the clinician who manages your INR.

An enzyme isolated from natto, the fermented soybean dish, studied for fibrinolytic activity: the breakdown of fibrin in clots.

A randomised trial by Kim and colleagues (Hypertens Res, 2008) gave 2,000 fibrinolytic units a day to 86 adults with raised blood pressure for eight weeks and reported a fall of about 5.5 mmHg systolic. A 2018 review by Chen and colleagues collects the mechanism work. Note the unit: nattokinase is dosed in fibrinolytic units, not milligrams, and this label publishes neither.

Caution. The ingredient here most likely to matter to a prescriber. Do not combine it with warfarin, apixaban, clopidogrel, aspirin therapy or any other anticoagulant or antiplatelet without medical supervision. Usually stopped before surgery.