This Under-The-Radar Plant Extract Supports Metabolism & Lean Muscle

Metabolism is often reduced to how quickly you burn calories, but in reality, it’s the foundation of nearly every process that keeps your body functioning well. It refers to how your body turns food into energy, manages blood sugar, regulates appetite, builds lean muscle, and stores (or uses) fat.

Nutrition, movement, sleep, and stress all play foundational roles in improving your metabolism. But research increasingly shows that certain supplements and plant extracts can also play a meaningful part. One botanical gaining renewed attention? Veld grape extract.

What is veld grape?

Veld grape (Cissus quadrangularis ) is a plant native to parts of Africa and Asia that has been used in traditional medicine1 for hundreds of years. Historically, it was valued for supporting bone health, digestion, and injury recovery.*

What’s especially compelling today is how standardized extracts of veld grape are showing benefits well beyond those traditional uses. These extracts contain a unique mix of bioactive compounds (including flavonoids, indanes, phytosterols, and keto-steroids) that have been clinically studied for their antioxidant and metabolic effects.*

How veld grape supports metabolism

Metabolic health is really about how hormones, enzymes, and tissues communicate to regulate energy balance. Veld grape stands out because it supports several interconnected metabolic pathways.*

One of the most compelling areas of research centers on appetite regulation. In a 16-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, supplementation with a standardized veld grape extract (CQR-300) extract significantly increased circulating levels of GLP-1, a hormone that promotes satiety and slows gastric emptying.*

Participants also experienced reductions in DPP-4 activity, an enzyme that breaks down GLP-1. 

Together, these effects translated into:* 

Beyond appetite, veld grape has shown consistent effects on body composition. In that same 16-week trial, participants supplementing with veld grape experienced significant reductions in body weight, body fat percentage, and waist and hip circumference over 16 weeks.*

Earlier studies reinforce these findings. In an 8-week study published in 2019, participants taking 300 mg of a standardized veld grape extract saw body fat reductions of up to 12.8% when measured by a DEXA scan (along with decreases in waist and hip measurements) despite maintaining their usual diet and exercise routines.*

These shifts indicate veld grape may help support fat loss while preserving metabolically active tissue. Overall, this supports sustainable shifts in body composition (which is the goal!).  

In multiple studies, veld grape supplementation has been associated with improvements in fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, and total cholesterol.*

In one study, participants showed significant improvements in fasting glucose and lipid profiles compared to placebo. Meanwhile, in that 2019 trial, results showed reductions in total cholesterol and triglycerides alongside increases in HDL (“good”) cholesterol.*

Roughly half of U.S. adults have raised blood pressure levels. Studies show that taking veld grape extract is an effective way to lower blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic).*

At the cellular level, veld grape has been shown to support the activation of AMPK, an enzyme often referred to as the body’s metabolic “master switch.”*

AMPK helps regulate energy balance by promoting fat oxidation, improving insulin sensitivity, and encouraging efficient fuel use. Supporting this pathway may help explain veld grape’s broad effects across fat metabolism, blood sugar balance, and energy regulation.*

Preclinical research also suggests veld grape may influence digestive enzymes involved in2 breaking down fats and carbohydrates, including pancreatic lipase, α-amylase, and α-glucosidase.*

By gently modulating how these macronutrients are processed, veld grape may support more balanced digestion and nutrient handling, without blocking absorption entirely.

How much veld grape extract should you take per day?

Most human clinical studies on veld grape have used doses around 300 mg per day of a standardized Cissus quadrangularis extract called CQR-300®. This is the amount associated with improvements in appetite regulation, body composition, and metabolic markers in multiple trials.*

And it’s the exact amount and type of veld grape used in mindbodygreen’s creatine tone+. This new formula provides 5 grams of creatine monohydrate (to help you build muscle and strength) along with veld grape to help support all aspects of metabolism and body composition.*

The takeaway

Backed by clinical research, veld grape works across multiple metabolic pathways to support satiety hormones, body composition, blood sugar balance, lipid health, and cellular energy regulation.*

For anyone looking to support metabolic health and lean muscle in a more comprehensive, sustainable way, this under-the-radar plant extract is worth paying attention to.*