Whey Protein and Adaptogenic Supplementation in Physically Active Females

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether whey protein or plant protein supplements, with or without an adaptogenic herb blend, can improve strength, recovery, stress, and wellbeing in active females. The adaptogenic blend contains ashwagandha root extract and shatavari root extract.

The main questions the study aims to answer are:

Do whey protein and plant protein supplements improve muscle strength and recovery in physically active females? Does adding ashwagandha and shatavari improve stress, recovery, sleep, and wellbeing compared with protein alone? Are there differences between whey protein and plant protein when combined with the adaptogenic blend?

Researchers will compare four supplement groups:

Whey protein Whey protein with ashwagandha and shatavari Plant protein Plant protein with ashwagandha and shatavari

Participants will:

Take their assigned supplement daily for 6 weeks Attend testing sessions before and after the intervention Complete questionnaires about recovery, sleep, stress, soreness, and digestive health Provide saliva samples to measure stress, hormone, immune, and inflammation markers Complete muscle strength tests, including handgrip strength and push-up testing Complete a 24-hour dietary recall

The study includes physically active females aged 18 to 45 years who regularly participate in structured training.

Conditions

• Sports Nutritional Sciences
• Recovery
• Muscle Strength Recovery
• Muscle Strength
• Supplements

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Plant Protein Supplement

Participants will consume a plant-based protein supplement daily for 6 weeks. The supplement will be provided in identical blank sachets. Participants will be instructed to maintain their usual diet and training habits throughout the intervention period.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Whey protein

Participants will consume a whey protein supplement daily for 6 weeks. The supplement will be provided in identical blank sachets. Participants will be instructed to maintain their usual diet and training habits throughout the intervention period.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Whey Protein With Adaptogenic Blend

Participants will consume a whey protein supplement containing ashwagandha KSM-66® root extract (250 mg) and shatavari SRI-81™ root extract (300 mg) daily for 6 weeks. Supplements will be provided in identical blank sachets. Participants will maintain usual diet and training habits during the study.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Plant Protein With Adaptogenic Blend

Participants will consume a plant-based protein supplement containing ashwagandha KSM-66® root extract (250 mg) and shatavari SRI-81™ root extract (300 mg) daily for 6 weeks. Supplements will be provided in identical blank sachets. Participants will maintain usual diet and training habits during the study.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Sports Performance and Applied Research in Trials and Analysis

  lead NETWORK

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

45 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-07-01

Primary Completion

2026-08-12

Completion

2026-09-20

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations