Absorption
AstraGin
AstraGin is an absorption enhancer with limited human data and no proven acute pre-workout performance benefit.
How it counts: Not part of the score
We show it on the label and count it as disclosed, but it never affects Dose, any sub-score or the grade. The basis below explains why.
- Clinical dose
- No established clinical dose
- Safety ceiling
- —
- Evidence
- weak
- Category
- Absorption
Evidence summary
Research confidence: low
No pre-workout reference dose. AstraGin is sold as an absorption enhancer. In 7 people, 50 mg raised blood arginine about 10% (Huang 2023). In a 30-person pilot, 50 mg a day for 4 weeks, taken with whey protein and home resistance training, raised valine and leucine absorption 14% and 8%, and grip strength rose 5.2% vs 2.4% on placebo, mostly in adults aged 60-80 (Zhuang 2026). Those results depend on protein taken with it and on weeks of daily use; a pre-workout scoop has no whey, and arginine's performance benefits appear at about 0.15 g/kg (around 11 g), far more than the 1.5 g or less in these products.
Research sources
- Astragalus membranaceus and Panax notoginseng saponins improves intestinal l-arginine absorption and protects against intestinal disorder in vivo (Huang et al., Food Sci Technol Res 2023)(opens in new window)
- Effects of Astragalus membranaceus and Panax notoginseng Saponins Extract on the Pharmacokinetics of Whey Protein Absorption, Intestinal Permeability, and Muscle Function: A Pilot Study (Zhuang et al., Nutrients 2026)(opens in new window)
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover pilot, n=30 (three age groups), 50 mg/day with whey protein (0.8 g/kg/day) and home resistance training. Single dose: valine AUC +6.67%, leucine +3.62%, isoleucine +0.15%. After 4 weeks: valine +14.07%, leucine +8.34%, isoleucine +6.33%; grip strength +5.20% vs +2.44% placebo, muscle mass +0.85% vs +0.68%; largest effects in adults 60-80. Funded by Chung Shan Medical University; product supplied by NuLiv Science.
- Toxicological Evaluation of a Mixture of Astragalus membranaceus and Panax notoginseng Root Extracts (InnoSlim)(opens in new window)
Genotoxicity and 28/90-day rat toxicity studies of the same root-extract combination; no adverse findings