Matrix Nutrition T5-XT Extreme Fat Burner

The Matrix T5-XT Extreme Fat Burner pills are from UK Based company matrix-nutrition.co.uk. The product description states that these pills are a potent thermogenic fat burner by increasing the metabolism and suppressing appetite. This review will examine the ingredients of this supplement using the most current research to find out how these ingredients do this.

Bitter Orange

Bitter orange is otherwise known as Citrus Aurantium. One suggested effect is due to the active component of synephrine which can augment thermogenesis (1). There is little evidence however to support the claims that citrus aurantium is effective for weight loss, this is due to research studies not using citrus aurantium alone and instead including it with substances such as caffeine which is how changes in participants fat mass can be attributed (2).

Caffeine Anhydrous

For many years caffeine has been a widely used as an ergogenic aid. There have been many studies of caffeine’s effect of both the aerobic system, (3), and the anaerobic system, (4) on sporting performance. The suggested benefits of caffeine supplementation include the ability to attain greater use of fats as an energy source and sparing of muscle glycogen, (5). It has also been suggested that there is an increase of calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, which can create a greater muscle force production, (6). It has also been theorised that the effects of caffeine are probably exerted through effects upon the central nervous system or skeletal muscle by greater motor unit recruitment and alterations in neurotransmitter function (7).

Guarana

A main ingredient of guarana is caffeine; there have been several studies that have shown a significant increase weight loss with caffeine (9), but there have been few studies that have looked at the nutritional supplement on weight loss. Other studies of guarana have shown an increase of energy expenditure and fat oxidation of short periods of time which suggest that this could be due to a reduction in respiratory quotient and an increase in lipid oxidation (10).

Green Tea

Green tea supplementation has been shown to have several health properties including an increase in plasma antioxidant which will lead to a lowering of oxidative damage (11, 12), decreased blood pressure (13, 14) and it can protect against coronary atherosclerosis (15). Other health effects that green tea can have includes a lowering of cholesterol, an increase of insulin activity (16) and a regulation of blood glucose levels which can help reduce body fat.

N-Acetyl-L-Carnitine

The main functions of L-Carnitine include the transport of fatty acids (17) and the reduction of lactate production (18). The 3 main benefits to carnitine includes; supporting the role of fat oxidation (19), an increase in carnitine stores in the muscle and an increase in the rate of oxidation of fatty acids and triglycerides.

Endurance athletes use l-carnitine to increase the oxidation of fat during exercise and spare muscle glycogen which will help them perform for longer. Supplementation when performing high intensity exercise has shown an increase in exercise performance and maximum oxygen consumption when it’s supplemented for longer periods.

CLA

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) has been shown to have weight loss properties (20); there are several reasons for this which includes an increase in energy metabolism (21), insulin resistance (22), stimulation of lipolysis, which is due to an impaired signalling which reduces triglyceride synthesis and releases free fatty acid which normally occurs when energy demand rises (23). Other mechanisms include a suppression of appetite (24), induced adipocyte apoptosis which decreases body fat mass and increased energy expenditure (25).

Maize Starch

Maize Starch is used in supplement as a disintegrant and binder. This means that it can help a tablet to dissolve quicker so that it can be released for absorption (26). As well as this it is also a complex carbohydrate that replenishes glycogen stores which in turn can prolong exercise. (27).

Silicone Dioxide

Silicon Dioxide doesn’t add any nutritional benefits to this supplement. The main reason for silicon dioxide in this supplement is that it aids in the even distribution of the active ingredients in this supplement.

Magnesium Stearate

Magnesium stearate does not induce any nutritional benefits. The main reason for this substance being in the supplement is that it is a lubricant for the machinery that manufactures the product. 

The main purpose for the supplement has been described as a fat burner. From the research it is clear to see that the ingredients in this supplement can help aid fat oxidation it can also increase energy metabolism and decrease blood pressure. This supplement is best taken pre workout or between meals. This supplement however contains sida Cordifolia which contains ephedrine. The world anti-doping agency has stated that the level of ephedrine cannot be higher than 10 micrograms per millimetre and so it cannot be recommended as a supplement for an athlete. 

*NOTE – This product has not been tested in a laboratory and may contain other substances that may not appear on the label

1 – Preuss, H. G., DiFerdinando, D., Bagchi, M., & Bagchi, D. (2002). Citrus aurantium as a thermogenic, weight-reduction replacement for ephedra: an overview. Journal of medicine, 33(1-4), 247-264.

2 – Colker, C. M., Kaiman, D. S., Torina, G. C., Perlis, T., & Street, C. (1999). Effects of< i> Citrus aurantium</i> extract, caffeine, and St. John’s Wort on body fat loss, lipid levels, and mood states in overweight healthy adults. Current Therapeutic Research, 60(3), 145-153.

3 – Wiles, J. D, Bird, S. R, Hopkins, J. & Riley, M. (1992). Effect of caffeinated coffee on running speed, respiratory factors, blood lactate and perceived exertion during 1500-m treadmill running. British journal of sports medicine, 26 (11), 116-120.

4 – Kalmar, J. M & Cafarelli. E. (1998). Effects of caffeine on neuromuscular function. Journal of Applied Physiology, 87(2), 801-808.

5 – Costill, D. L., Dalasky, G. & Fink, W. (1978) Effects of caffeine ingestion on metabolism and exercise performance. Journal of Medicinal Science and sports exercise, 10 (3), 155–158.

6 – Tarnopolsky, M. A. (1994). Caffeine and endurance performance. Journal of Sports Medicine, 18(2), 109–125

7 – Bruce, C. R., Anderson, M. E. & Fraser, S. F. (2000). Enhancement of 2000-m rowing performance after caffeine ingestion. Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 32 (11), 1958–1963.

8 – Jain, A., Choubey, S., Singour, P. K., Rajak, H., & Pawar, R. S. (2014). Sida cordifolia (Linn)–An overview.

9 – White, LM,, Gardner, SF, Gurley, BJ, Marx, MA, Wang, PL, Estes, M. (1997). Pharmacokinetics and cardiovascular effects of Ma huang (ephedra sinica) in normotensive adults. Journal of clinical pharmacology. 37, 116-122.

10 – Be´rube´-Parent S, St-Pierre S, Prud’homme D, Doucet E, Tremblay A. (2001). Obesity treatment with a progressive clinical tri-therapy combining sibutramine and a supervised diet–exercise intervention. International Journal of Obesity. 25, 1144–1153.

11- Rietveld, A., & Wiseman, S. (2003). Antioxidant effects of tea: evidence from human clinical trials. The Journal of nutrition, 133(10), 3285S-3292S.

12 – McKay, D. L., & Blumberg, J. B. (2002). The role of tea in human health: an update. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 21(1), 1-13.

13 – Yang, Y. C., Lu, F. H., Wu, J. S., Wu, C. H., & Chang, C. J. (2004). The protective effect of habitual tea consumption on hypertension. Archives of internal medicine, 164(14), 1534-1540.

14 – Hodgson, J. M., Devine, A., Puddey, I. B., Chan, S. Y., Beilin, L. J., & Prince, R. L. (2003). Tea intake is inversely related to blood pressure in older women. The Journal of nutrition, 133(9), 2883-2886.

15 – Sasazuki, S., Kodama, H., Yoshimasu, K., Liu, Y., Washio, M., Tanaka, K., … & Takeshita, A. (2000). Relation between green tea consumption and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis among Japanese men and women. Annals of epidemiology, 10(6), 401-408.

16 – Anderson, R. A., & Polansky, M. M. (2002). Tea enhances insulin activity. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 50(24), 7182-7186.

17 – Opie, L. H. (1979). Role of carnitine in fatty acid metabolism of normal and ischemic myocardium. American heart journal, 97(3), 375-388.

18 – Wall, B. T., Stephens, F. B., Constantin-Teodosiu, D., Marimuthu, K., Macdonald, I. A., & Greenhaff, P. L. (2011). Chronic oral ingestion of L-carnitine and carbohydrate increases muscle carnitine content and alters muscle fuel metabolism during exercise in humans. The Journal of Physiology, 589(4), 963-973.

19 – Blankson, H., Stakkestad, J. A., Fagertun, H., Thom, E., Wadstein, J., & Gudmundsen, O. (2000). Conjugated linoleic acid reduces body fat mass in overweight and obese humans. The Journal of nutrition, 130(12), 2943-2948.

20 – House, R. L., Cassady, J. P., Eisen, E. J., McIntosh, M. K., & Odle, J. (2005). Conjugated linoleic acid evokes de‐lipidation through the regulation of genes controlling lipid metabolism in adipose and liver tissue. obesity reviews, 6(3), 247-258.

21 – Chung, S., Brown, J. M., Provo, J. N., Hopkins, R., & McIntosh, M. K. (2005). Conjugated linoleic acid promotes human adipocyte insulin resistance through NFκB-dependent cytokine production. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 280(46), 38445-38456.

22 – Evans, M., Lin, X., Odle, J., & McIntosh, M. (2002). Trans-10, cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid increases fatty acid oxidation in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. The Journal of nutrition, 132(3), 450-455.

23 – Medina, E. A., Horn, W. F., Keim, N. L., Havel, P. J., Benito, P., Kelley, D. S., … & Erickson, K. L. (2000). Conjugated linoleic acid supplementation in humans: effects on circulating leptin concentrations and appetite. Lipids, 35(7), 783-788.

24 – Zambell, K. L., Keim, N. L., Van Loan, M. D., Gale, B., Benito, P., Kelley, D. S., & Nelson, G. J. (2000). Conjugated linoleic acid supplementation in humans: effects on body composition and energy expenditure. Lipids, 35(7), 777-782.

25 – Roberts, M. D., Lockwood, C., Dalbo, V. J., Volek, J., & Kerksick, C. M. (2011). Ingestion of a high-molecular-weight hydrothermally modified waxy maize starch alters metabolic responses to prolonged exercise in trained cyclists. Nutrition, 27(6), 659-665.

26 – White, LM,, Gardner, SF, Gurley, BJ, Marx, MA, Wang, PL, Estes, M. (1997). Pharmacokinetics and cardiovascular effects of Ma huang (ephedra sinica) in normotensive adults. Journal of clinical pharmacology. 37, 116-122.

27 – Roberts, M. D., Lockwood, C., Dalbo, V. J., Volek, J., & Kerksick, C. M. (2011). Ingestion of a high-molecular-weight hydrothermally modified waxy maize starch alters metabolic responses to prolonged exercise in trained cyclists. Nutrition, 27(6), 659-665