Robuvit - oak wood extract supplement

Hutan

Moderator
Staff member
This is a thread to help with the evaluation of Robuvit for ME/CFS. We already have a number of threads for individual scientific papers on Robuvit, mostly for conditions other than ME/CFS. Hopefully, this one can serve to consolidate the discussion.

2020 paper of 40 otherwise healthy older men who complained of decreased vigor. Claims of improvements and reductions in oxidative stress. No mention of blinding in the abstract. Mentions that it has previously been shown to be effective in chronic fatigue syndrome.
Exploring the concept of vigor and dysvigor in men of 50-65 years: effects of Robuvit®, 2020, Ledda, Belcaro et al


2018 PTSD treatment study of 18 women given psychological therapy and 16 women given psychological therapy plus Robuvit. Open label trial. The abstract reports that Robuvit cohort improved more than the cohort with psychological therapies alone.
Supplementation with Robuvit® in post-traumatic stress disorders associated to high oxidative stress, 2018, Belcaro et al

2018 Fatigue in convalescence study. No mention of sample size in the abstract but it is noted that it is a preliminary study. Claims a wide range of improvements in the Robuvit group compared to the standard management group.
Claims Robuvit has been successfully used in hepatic failure and in CFS.
Robuvit®: improvement of fatigue in medical convalescence, 2018, Belcaro et al
 
Last edited:
After you get past the legal disclaimer (we just make this to sell to others who make products, not our fault what claims these others make), there's some pretty strong claims being made about its efficacy for CFS.

Robuvit® contains roburins and other flavonoids found exclusively in oak wood, which can fight chronic fatigue. Possible mechanisms of action include changes in the function of the cellular protein factories called ribosomes. Altered ribosomal function has been seen in people infected with Epstein-Barr virus, which is strongly associated with chronic fatigue syndrome. Support for ribosomal function may prove to be an entirely new approach to managing chronic fatigue syndrome. In addition, the ellagitannins present in Robuvit® are converted to elagic acid which in return is metabolized into urolithins. Urolithins' presence in the human body has already been established and published. Robuvit® is a patented and standardized oak wood extract rich in roburins. Even for those who do not suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome, Robuvit® may be considered a novel method of maintaining one’s cellular protein synthesis machinery.


Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) causes persistent fatigue that affects the quality of life of millions (3.28% prevalence). CFS is a serious condition with consequences such as long-term disability. CFS affects in particular people aged 40-59. Every ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic group can have CFS, but affects women at 4 times the rate of men. Primary symptoms are: loss of memory or concentration, sore throat, enlarged lymph nodes in neck or armpits, muscle pain, headache, unrefreshing sleep, extreme exhaustion. In a clinical study published in 2014 Robuvit® has been shown to significantly reduce most of the primary symptoms related to CFS.
 
Uhhhmmm. There seems to be 4 different threads for RobuVit. Is this an infomercial?
 
Is this an infomercial?
To the contrary, linking the existing threads on individual papers and having one place for general discussion might help us sort out just how many blinded trials for CFS have been done. Maybe there's something in it. Probably, given the commercial nature of the product and the track record of other anti-oxidant type supplements, there won't be.

Edit - I've added a note to the first post to explain.
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
Am I the only one who thinks these crap unblinded studies are used as a marketing strategy for supplements to people who don't really care about the quality of the evidence?
There is a market for desperate people. People will pay lots of money for the suggestion they will get better. The product is not necessarily supplement or medication. The product may be the doctor himself/ herself. It could be a serie of treatments (Neurofeedback, brain retraining, Vagus nerve stimulation, Perrin technique), oxygen therapy, etc). It could also be a book or a membership (dr selling access to information). It may and may not be perceived as worthwhile, but in the end, we still don’t know what is wrong and whether we all have the same disease.
 
Back
Top Bottom