Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

> From: M Paul latiolais <
> hmpl@xxxxxxx>
> Subject: [RC]   myo-vet
>
>
> My vet has me supplementing with myo-vet, an equine platinum
> performance product that is supposed to help the muscles heal
> faster.  The research done on this supplement apparently has only
> been done on humans.  Does anyone know anything more about this product?
>
> -Paul

Myo-vet: Primary active ingredients are HMB, L-glutamine and pinebark plus vitamins E and C.
http://platinumperformance.com/animal/equine/products/productcategories/product.cfm?category_id=15
Approximately $4.00/day (based on 2x day dosing per web site).

HMB is a metabolite of the amino acid leucine (one of the branched chain amino acids, or BCAA's).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branched-chain_amino_acids
Glutamine is another amino acid.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutamine
Pine bark (marketed as Pycnogenol®) is an antioxidant
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/98legacy/02_05_98a.html (note-research was funded by the manufacturer)

The Myo-vet's usefulness probably depends on how much of the ingredients are included in the product and if HMB is actually superior to leucine for doing what you want it to do - compared to just supplementing AA's (such as whey protein isolate or dried split peas)  or BCAA's at decreased cost.

2oz whey protein isolate/day would provide 5g of leucine and 8g of glutamine for around $1.40/day (plus a bunch of other AA's).
http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2134051

1 cup of dried split peas would provide close to 3.5g of leucine and 8.2g glutamine (plus a bunch of other AA's). Haven't priced recently but probably about 30cents/day. Horses like the way they go crunch when eaten (and commonly used as a good protein source in horse feeds in Europe and Australia). Some feed mills carry them, the grocery store usually has them.
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c218D.html

Flax and soy are other good sources of leucine, oats and forages are low.

Recent Developments in Equine Nutrition with Farm and Clinic Applications (page 13)
http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/AAEP/2002/910102000024.PDF
Racing TB supplemented with 10 g -hydroxy--
methylbutyrate (HMB)/day tended to show improvements
in blood parameters and percentage of race
wins, but the differences were not significant. [118]
Endogenous HMB is derived both from the metabolism
of the amino acid leucine and through dietary
sources. Common equine feeds are low in HMB;
therefore, researchers postulated HMB supplementation
might reduce muscle damage and hasten the
recovery period after intense exercise. This study
showed trends but no significance; HMB supplementation
is not recommended at this time.
[118](Miller P, Fuller JC Jr. The effects of supplemental -hydroxy-
-methylbutyrate (HMB) on training and racing thoroughbreds,
in Proceedings. Am Equine Sports Med 1998;40–
41.)

From the HMB mfg's website
http://www.hmb.org/animal.cfm
(neither of these studies made it to a PubMed listing and I couldn't find the actual articles)

Miller, P., L. Sandberg and J.C. Fuller, Jr. 1998. The effects of supplemental ß-hydroxy-ß-methylbutyrate (HMB) on training and racing thoroughbreds. Assoc. Equine Sports Med Proc., pp 23-24. This study showed HMB decreased muscle damage and increased aerobic metabolism and performance during actual racing conditions.

Miller, P., L. Sandberg and J.C. Fuller, Jr. 1997. The effect of intensive training and ß-hydroxy-ß-methylbutyrate (HMB) on the physiological response to exercise in horses. FASEB J. 11:A290. This study showed that HMB supplementation to training horses increased endurance and aerobic metabolism as indicated by hematocrit and hemoglobin levels.

If it seems to be working and is short term, go for it. If you're thinking long term, there are probably much more cost effective ways to achieve the same effect, depending on why and what you're targeting. But if you don't have a good base to begin with, your're probably making expensive horse apples.

Patti K

Vail AZ