Review: BSN Nitrix Nitric Oxide Pump Supplement

Posted By elissa on Apr 3, 2009 | 0 comments

“NITRIX® is what’s called an a.m. to p.m. vaso-muscular dilator. This product works by expanding your blood vessels, which acts to increase blood flow, oxygen and nutrient delivery to your muscle cells. By ensuring the efficient travel of blood and nutrients throughout the body, you will experience improved workout performance, amazing pumps, all-day muscle fullness and vascularity, greater energy, a heightened resistance to fatigue and a greater ability to recover.”

Nitrix is BSN’s “other” nitric oxide (NO) supplement. Unlike the company’s popular NO-Xplode, Nitrix isn’t a pre-workout product… rather, it’s designed to be taken throughout the day, every day. The rationale is to improve blood flow, which—in turn—will improve workout performance and recovery.

At least that’s the theory…

Looking at the label, it’s clear Nitrix is a much simpler supplement than NO-Xplode.

Vitamin B9(Folic Acid) 200mcg

ACE3 (Triple Action Nitric Oxide Matrix) 3000mg
L-Arginine AKG, L-Arginine Ethyl Ester, L-Citrulline

CRTS2 (Controlled Release Technology & Support System) 1565mg
Methocel™ (Micro-Polymer Hydrophilic Methylcellulose Ether Matrix)

AVPT (Advanced Volumizing & Performance Technology)
(Patents 5,965,596; 6,172,098; 6,426,361 And 6,680,294) Creatine Ethyl Ester-Beta-Alanine Dual Action Composite (CarnoSyn®), Sodium Creatine Phosphate Matrix, Creatinol-O-Phosphate-Malic Acid Interfusion, Creatine AAB™ (Creatine Alpha Amino-N-Butyrate)

Phosphoplexx
Di-Calcium Phosphate, Di-Potassium Phosphate, & Sodium Phosphate
NAD (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide)

What the two have in common, however, are the basics: arginine, citrulline, phosphates, NAD and the AVPT creatine/beta-alanine blend. Let’s take a look at these ingredients and see how well Nitrix holds its own.

ACE3 (Triple Action Nitric Oxide Matrix): There are three ingredients here, although the description “triple action” is a stretch, since they’re three different versions of the same thing. Both arginine AKG and arginine ethyl ester are delivery forms of the amino acid l-arginine, which is the precursor for NO synthesis. Likewise, citrulline functions as a secondary source of this amino acid, as it’s converted to arginine in the urea cycle.

There are a range of potential benefits to arginine supplementation. Beyond the nitric oxide/pump aspect, arginine is a growth hormone secretagogue and substrate for creatine production; it has protective effects in various disease states; is important for ammonia detoxification and may act as an anti-obesity/nutrient-partitioning agent.

While the jury is still out on the benefits of chronic arginine supplementation for healthy people, developing research indicates it may augment the effects of training on insulin sensitivity and capillary growth in skeletal muscle.

AVPT (Advanced Volumizing & Performance Technology): this consists of a creatine ethyl ester (CEE)—beta alanine combo, plus sodium creatine phosphate, a creatinol-o-phosphate—malic acid “interfusion” and Creatine AAB.

Creatine ethyl ester (CEE) is a topic that deserves a review of its own. Once upon a time, it was hailed as the latest and greatest creatine ever. However, it’s now clear that claims for superior stability and bioavailability are so much hot air.

For example, tests by Dr. Mark Tallon demonstrated that—unlike creatine monohydrate—a substantial amount of CEE degrades to creatinine during digestion. In addition, a comparative test performed by the Ohio Research Group found CEE was less effective than a different creatine product (Gaspari Size On).

The final nail in the coffin was a recent study supervised by Dr. Darryn Willoughby and Dr. Richard Kreider, which found that CEE produced a) a large increase in serum creatinine levels, without b) significantly increasing serum or total muscle creatine content.

Needless to state, it’s not looking too good for CEE these days…

For what it’s worth, though, it’s paired with something useful: beta-alanine, which is one-half of the dipeptide carnosine (beta-alanyl-l-histidine). Carnosine is a naturally-occurring metabolite which—among other functions—helps to buffer hydrogen ions produced during intense muscular contractions.

Sodium creatine phosphate is simply the sodium salt of “phosphocreatine.” It’s been used experimentally as an alternative to creatine monohydrate, but once again—there’s no real indication it’s a superior form.

Creatinol-o-phosphate was covered extensively in the Aplodan review. Briefly, it’s a creatine analog that can serve as a) a source of creatine; b) a source of phosphate for regenerating phosphocreatine; and/or c) an alternate phosphogen for ATP production. In Nitrix, it’s part of a “malic acid interfusion.” Malic acid is an important metabolite in the Krebs Cycle, which is the primary metabolic pathway used by the body to produce energy.

Phosphoplexx: There’s not too much to say about the ingredients in this blend…sodium, potassium, phosphate and calcium are electrolytes, and anyone who works out hard and sweats a lot needs to replenish these. Phosphate is also needed for ATP production from phosphocreatine.

NAD stands for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, a coenzyme that participates in oxidation-reduction reactions. NAD (and its reduced form, NADH) are marketed as dietary supplements for enhancing mood and energy.

That pretty much covers the ingredients. There really aren’t any surprises here, but that’s a good thing, in my opinion… I don’t like to waste my time (or $$$) sampling supplements. And I did want to give Nitrix a shot…

Nitrix comes in both 180 and 360 tablet sizes: I ordered the latter. 360 tablets seemed like a lot, but then again, I knew I’d be taking a lot of pills. At the recommended 9 per day, it was only a 40 day supply…barely enough for a fair trial.

As expected, I rather liked Nitrix. While I didn’t notice any unusual strength increases, the pump was another story. It was pretty intense—my muscles felt hard and swollen after only a few exercises. It was noticeable even for trivial gestures like reaching up to push the hair out of my face.

So Nitrix works well enough, from that perspective. If nothing else, it’s certainly good for morale. 😉

As for other effects…well, that’s harder to judge. BSN notes that “…Nitrix begins to induce its maximum vaso-muscular volumizing effects in weeks 3–12.”

That’s a pretty broad window—as well as a hefty investment in multiple containers. Given that the creatine blend isn’t quite up to snuff (thanks to the CEE), it’s fair to question whether Nitrix is optimally designed or cost-effective. It was also a bit of a pain to take all those (large) pills every day.

Nonetheless, Nitrix appears to have its uses…it’s not a miracle pill, but—despite its drawbacks—I think it’s a potentially beneficial supp that could be worth experimenting with. It’s available at BodyBuilding.com, our recommended online retailer.