Despite many advancements in healthcare over the past few decades, there is nonetheless growing acknowledgement that wide gaps persist in both research and treatment solutions specifically relating to areas of women’s health.

“Dysmenorrhea [period pain], breast pain, vulvovaginal discomfort, dyspareunia [pain associated with intercourse], or pain during pregnancy and childbirth were often simply considered part of ‘the female condition’. Hidden behind ‘naturalness’ arguments, certain essential subjects have long been neglected,” laments Melanie Croissant, Product Development Manager at CCD Laboratoire de la Femme, the independent French pharmaceutical company that for the past six decades has focused solely on providing solutions in the realm of women’s health.

While many aspects of women’s health undoubtedly remain under-reported and underserved, Croissant notes the tide has started to turn in recent years, triggered by more open discourse – with “formerly taboo subjects such as the menopause, menstruation, and sexuality” now being openly discussed and added to health agendas. “And in response, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical companies are providing more and more solutions specifically for women.”

This observation is echoed by María Martín, chief marketing officer at Spanish-headquartered Laboratorios Best Medical – a leading R&D and innovation laboratory in southern Europe. “We’ve realised from our experience at the first line of the counter sales that although 80 per cent of the purchasing was made by women, they had specific needs that were all too often neglected, with some ‘taboos’ being ignored. We’ve therefore made a special effort to listen to what they say about their anxieties and concerns, as well as their physical needs.”

With a strong emphasis on developing natural products for a preventative health approach, Laboratorios Best Medical has launched ‘Gynactiv’: a specific line “created by women for women” and catering to all life stages. Similarly eager to meet women consumers’ desire to manage their health differently, French manufacturer CCD has developed four food supplements brands, including ‘MENOCIA’ to help alleviate menopausal symptoms.

Notably, both European businesses turned to KSM-66 Ashwagandha root extract as a star ingredient for enhancing their respective women’s health ranges, based on the best-selling and highest concentration organic root extract’s impressive, scientifically verified performance in supporting women naturally across the full gamut of specific conditions they might experience throughout distinct phases of their lives.

Melanie Criossant, Head of Product Development at CCD Laboratoire de la femme - and the company's new innovation, MENOCIA, featuring KSM-66 (launching in April 2024).

Clinically proven support for women across life stages

For both Laboratorios Best Medical and CCD Laboratoire de la Femme, the most powerful motivation for selecting KSM-66 Ashwagandha over other brands was the sheer quantity and quality of gold-standard (randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled) scientific studies confirming KSM-66’s positive impact on various symptoms exclusive to women. The most clinically studied ashwagandha root extract for women's health today, KSM-66’s benefits in this realm span everything from enhancing libido and sexual wellbeing, to helping alleviate menopausal symptoms, and supporting thyroid health.

“At Laboratoire CCD, we focus on developing products with strongly backed scientific studies on the population or on targeted symptoms – it’s a priority when formulating our supplements. The main reason for selecting KSM-66 was therefore the scientific evidence behind this ingredient,” notes Melanie Croissant, product development manager. “[KSM-66] has been studied on stress, mental health, and sleep with a low dosage, thanks to its high bioavailability. The menopausal and sexual health approach were also major reasons for choosing KSM-66.”

It was during the development of a new menopause support supplement that Spain’s Laboratorios Best Medical first came to understand the exceptional adaptogenic benefits of KSM-66 Ashwagandha. “Five years ago, we had a big challenge ahead of us: to come up with an efficient formulation to combat the symptoms of menopause that, until that moment, were basically being solved with evening primrose and riboflavones. Obviously, [such supplementation] fell short in that most of the symptomatology remained unaddressed,” advises María Martín. “After a long period formulating with a wide variety of active natural ingredients in synergy…we [sought] a powerful adaptogen with added value, to help women face changing and adverse situations due to unbalanced hormones. We discovered ashwagandha was more than an adaptogen, especially in the highest possible concentration available on the market.” That ‘highest concentration’ – and indeed, highest standard – ashwagandha root extract was KSM-66, the world’s best-selling brand in the category today.

Supporting mental and sexual health: ‘Today’s fifties are the old thirties’

Regarding women’s sexual health, KSM-66 has been the focus of four major clinical studies in this realm – all adhering to the gold standard of randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled design – that strongly suggest the significant benefits that supplementation of the leading root extract could have for women. The trial results demonstrated a dramatic reduction in Female Sexual Distress FSD), increased sexual desire, and significant improvement in lubrication, orgasm, and sexual satisfaction, amongst other benefits.

And indeed, Martín underscores the special interest in sexual health right now, as well as mental health, amongst menopausal and peri-menopausal women as a key driver in the new women’s health formulations – and certainly, this is what drove Laboratorios Best Medical to incorporate KSM-66. “Today’s ‘fifties’ are the old ‘thirties’ – women at the menopause [stage] feel young, and they want to get rid of the discomforts, aches and pains that can stop them from carrying on with their lives as they wish,” she tells us. “KSM-66 Ashwagandha is perfect in that it caters to all such issues with proven evidence: stress relief, memory and cognition, muscle strength, sleep, sexual health, weight management, and thyroid health. This provides us with confidence and security,” she remarks, adding that the firm currently uses KSM-66 Ashwagandha in two products: ‘Ginepausia’ (designed to respond to women’s needs throughout the menopause), and ‘Anxiostress’ (a bilayer tablet that combines ingredients including KSM-66 Ashwagandha in one single intake, for stress and anxiety relief).

María Martín, CMO at Laboratorios Best Medical - and the company's two women's health supplements containing KSM-66.

Reducing hot flashes, night sweats, and emotional disorders

CCD’s Melanie Croissant likewise highlights menopausal symptoms as a key application area in nutraceuticals right now. “Around 50 per cent of women say that dietary supplements are the best way to support hormonal disruption and menopause. We observed growing demand from women [for supplements to support] mood, mental health, stress, and menopausal symptoms. There will be 1.1 billion menopausal women by 2025 worldwide,” she informs. “As an adaptogen, ashwagandha increases the body’s ability to adapt to different sorts of stress – [beyond] menopause and perimenopause, women are prone to many sources of stress (hormonal, emotional and psychological imbalances).”

Accordingly, best-in-class KSM-66 Ashwagandha has become the star ingredient in CCD’s ‘MENOCIA Bouffées de Chaleur’ innovation, which launches onto the French market in April 2024. “This dietary supplement helps reduce hot flashes, night sweats, and associated emotional disorders such as stress, irritability, and poor mood. It supports the regulation of neurotransmitters and stress factors,” Croissant informs, adding that a staggering 80 per cent of menopausal women in Western countries are affected by hot flashes and night sweats. “On average, hot flashes last from five to seven years, but can extend to 15 years for some women. This can be disabling, and seriously impacts quality of life. It is the consequence of a disruption between two neurotransmitters (serotonin and noradrenaline) due to oestrogen deficiency at the onset of menopause.”

Effective solutions such as hormone replacement treatment (HRT) already exist, yet less than 10 per cent of menopausal women take such prescribed medication, according to CCD’s product development manager. “That doesn’t mean women do not want to improve their menopausal symptoms,” she notes. “The solution could be MENOCIA Bouffées de Chaleur. The product is hormone- and phytoestrogen-free, and works on physical and psychological symptoms of menopause thanks to two plant extracts (saffron and KSM-66 Ashwagandha), and two vitamins (vitamins B9 and B6).”

Leveraging growth in demand for powerful, natural solutions

How consumers are responding to Women’s Health focused products containing KSM-66 Ashwagandha is what really matters, of course – and for Laboratorios Best Medical, such feedback has been “fantastically positive”, according to María Martín. “[Women consumers] can feel the results just a few days after first intake: their symptoms improve and they see how it positively affects their lives. The best way to measure the response is loyalty – so far, they repeat [purchase], and we have real fans,” she enthuses. The company’s ‘Anxiostress’ innovation was only launched last year, and there are no immediate plans to further develop other branded products within its own range. Nonetheless, Martín reveals that her R&D+i team is currently utilising KSM-66 Ashwagandha in the development of numerous formulas for third parties, and the firm is already engaged in contract manufacturing.

In the case of CCD, given that the MENOCIA Bouffées de Chaleur innovation containing KSM-66 has yet to launch, the company must wait to gauge consumer response. However, an in-house study (of 100 menopausal women for two months) undoubtedly augurs well for the new product’s reception: “Results showed that 8 out of 10 women found the formula including KSM-66 relevant, and nearly 8 out of 10 women would recommend MENOCIA Bouffées de Chaleur to a woman suffering from menopausal symptoms,” Croissant reports. “Indeed, about 9 out of 10 women mentioned a reduction in the intensity of their menopausal symptoms, and the product significantly reduced the frequency of hot flashes and night sweats (by a factor of two).”

Certainly, given the growing demand for natural solutions to target a multitude of women’s health needs, the CCD executive identifies “a legitimate interest in KSM-66 Ashwagandha for new innovative formulas across various health ranges”. Needless to say, manufacturers and women consumers alike will be watching this space with interest.