by Nicole Hackett, Student Public Relations Writer
The results are in, and they look promising.
For the past several months, Cedarville University’s School of Pharmacy Center for Pharmacy Innovation (CPI) has been conducting research for CAHV Holdings, a startup wellness company in West Chester, Ohio, on a new, all-natural energy drink. The results to date indicate the drink aids pulmonary function — the lungs’ ability to process and use oxygen — just as CAHV Holdings designed.
Initially, the study tested the drink mixture on Cedarville students. However, when the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States, the research ceased immediately.
During the nationwide shutdown, Dr. Rocco Rotello, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, was able to safely come to CPI’s labs, where he began testing the drink mixture’s natural components on human endothelial cells that make up blood vessels in the lungs. He looked specifically at a specific enzyme in these cells that helps make nitric oxide, a molecule that increases blood flow and lowers blood pressure.
When completed, the study proved that specific components in the drink influence the nitric oxide pathway, further proving the premise of the drink: a caffeine- and sugar-free preperformance drink that increases blood flow and vasodilation — the widening of blood vessels — and that decreases blood pressure.
“The end goal is to be able to demonstrate that, even in these very adverse times, this drink will aid as a pulmonary vasodilator, which means that it is able to improve oxygenation,” said Gabe Hospelhorn, CAHV Holdings chief operating officer.
Now that CAHV Holding knows its mixture is helpful to lung function, they are working hard on marketing the product and conducting final tests to determine what concentration of the drink mixture is best for the human body.
“We just believed we could prove the concept of our drink. But Dr. Rotello actually orchestrated and proved it,” said Hospelhorn. “We couldn’t have this statement without Cedarville.”
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,380 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, including its Doctor of Pharmacy program, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and high student engagement ranking. For more information about Cedarville University, visit www.cedarville.edu.