Called Weighlevel One, the product has been under development for a number of years. In its original form, called Weighlevel, the product was a blend of extracts of leaves of Alchemilla vulgaris (Lady’s Mantle), Olea europea (olive), Mentha longifolia (wild mint) and from the seeds of Cuminum cyminum (the spice cumin).
Initial results promising
The product showed good results in some early clinical trials published around 2011, enabling subjects in the experimental groups to lose more weight in a statistically significant fashion than did placebo groups.
The blend has multiple forms of action including stimulating metabolism (Lady’s Mantle and olive leaf); suppressing appetite (Lady’s Mantle, cumin and wild mint); and easing digestion (cumin and wild mint). But in its original form the herbal constituents were cleared quickly from the system, requiring users to take a dose three times a day.
That seemed a non starter to Atlanta-based ingredient developer John Alkire, who was intrigued by the initial formula’s results. Alkire, who is the founder and CEO of Zanda LLC, which sells a variety of patented ingredients, suggested to Sprunk-Jansen, the Danish firm that developed the original formulation, that finding a way to extend the release profile so that the formula could be taken once a day would create a more commercially viable product.
Randi Kindem, marketing manager with Sprunk-Jansen, said Alkire contacted her company after the product had been on the market for a several of years.