Inspired Nutra DVST8 Dark Illuminade: Fruity Lemonade Flavor

Inspired Nutraceuticals went on a roll in 2023, finishing incredibly strong with their DVST8 Dark RTD Pre-Workout and Endless Hydration RTD.

But before those launches, they seriously upped the industry ante with novel and intense formulas like DVST8 Dark, a pre-workout that will certainly help you get that edge necessary to bounce some heavy plates around.

With some unique and beautiful packaging, the formula debuted in June of this past year, and is now coming in a brand new flavor.

DVST8 Dark: Illuminade

DVST8 Dark is an absolutely insane pre-workout formula. It has a lot of everything. It has some pre-workout staples like citrulline, beta-alanine, and caffeine in copious quantities.

It also contains some fairly obscure but promising ingredients like naringin, luciferine, and skullcap. All told, it’s a jam-packed formula that is not intended for the casual gymgoer.

The new Illuminade flavor tastes like strawberry lemonade, and it comes in a nice, convenient ready-to-drink package.

We’re going to dive into a little summary on how Inspired DVST8 Dark works, but first, let’s check the PricePlow for good Inspired deals, and check out our video review of the new flavor:

Inspired DVST8 Dark – How It Works

You can read our main DVST Dark article for the full scientific story, but here’s an abbreviated explaier:

DVST8: The Truth Matrix

• L-Citrulline (6,666mg), a conditionally essential amino acid, is an effective nitric oxide (NO) booster that surpasses arginine in oral bioavailability, and is necessary to optimize citrulline levels especially under metabolic stress like heavy exercise or illness. Increased NO levels from citrulline lead to vasodilation, improved circulation, reduced blood pressure and heart rate, and enhanced athletic performance and recovery, including increased power, endurance, and reduced muscle soreness, while also aiding in ammonia removal and potentially improving sleep quality.
• Despite citrulline’s superior bioavailability compared to arginine nitrate (2,000mg), the combination of citrulline and arginine nitrate in DVST8 supplement offers synergistic effects, with citrulline inhibiting the premature breakdown of arginine, thereby enhancing absorption and overall effectiveness. Additionally, the inclusion of nitrates in arginine nitrate enhances NO production through a different mechanism, contributing to improved circulation, aerobic efficiency, strength, and cellular energy production.

Endless: Endurance & VO2 Supply

• Beta-Alanine (3,200mg), a well-established ergogenic aid in the supplement industry, enhances athletic performance by forming carnosine with L-histidine, which helps remove lactic acid from muscles and improve endurance. Its superior bioavailability compared to carnosine makes it an effective way to increase the body’s carnosine production, and although it may cause harmless tingling sensations, it’s especially beneficial for exercises lasting 30 seconds to 10 minutes.



• Cocoa bean extract (50mg), standardized for theobromine, is a common ingredient in pre-workout formulas due to its stimulant, vasodilatory, and bronchodilatory effects, which help upregulate nitric oxide and improve endurance. Theobromine, similar to caffeine, inhibits phosphodiesterase and increases cellular metabolic rate, but is more effective at relaxing smooth muscle tissue, thereby decreasing blood pressure and heart rate, even potentially countering caffeine’s hypertensive effects at high doses.
• Naringin (20mg) aids in reaping the benefits of NO upregulation by scavenging NO free radicals, downregulating iNOS and metalloproteinases-9 (MMP-9) for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, and may also support breathing by reducing airway inflammation.

Dark: Stimulated Reality Ignition (SR)

• Caffeine anhydrous (325mg), a common stimulant and ergogenic substance, can cross the blood-brain barrier, impacting cognition and neural metabolism, primarily by inhibiting adenosine, a nucleotide that induces fatigue as it accumulates in the brain. Additionally, caffeine enhances cellular metabolism and energy production by inhibiting phosphodiesterase, increasing cAMP levels, and inducing thermogenesis, thus contributing to fat loss, as supported by a meta-analysis linking caffeine intake to reduced weight, body mass index, and fat mass.
• NeuroCap (150mg), derived from the primary bioactive component of skullcap root, is recognized for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties, and has been shown to protect neurons from injury by upregulating neurotrophic factors like brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), crucial for neurogenesis and mood regulation. Consequently, baicalin is beneficial for mood, motivation, and focus, and can amplify the cognitive benefits of exercise, which also increases BDNF expression.


Pair up your DVST8 Dark with FSU Serum for crazy pumps!

• Synapsis (150mg), or synephrine, significantly boosts metabolism, potentially increasing daily calorie burn by nearly 200 calories, improves exercise performance without notably affecting heart rate or blood pressure, and aids weight loss by enhancing thermogenesis.
• Luciferine (100mg) is derived from lotus leaf, traditionally used in Chinese medicine, and has been found to possess anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-obesity, and anti-inflammatory properties, with its main alkaloids, nuciferine and N-nuciferine, crossing the blood-brain barrier to provide powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in the brain, protect neurons from intense metabolic stress, and benefit liver health, while also exhibiting natural stimulant effects.
• Infinergy DiCaffeine Malate (100mg), a caffeine molecule bound to malic acid, offers a slower and more prolonged energy boost compared to caffeine anhydrous due to its buffering effect on digestion and absorption, often combined with anhydrous caffeine to provide immediate energy with less intense withdrawal symptoms.

Endless: Hydration Refill

• The 770 milligrams of sea salt per serving in the supplement, yielding 300 milligrams of sodium, is substantial by industry standards but not necessarily concerning, considering sodium’s role as a crucial electrolyte lost during exercise and recent research suggesting that optimal health may require a higher sodium intake than previously thought, though individual responses to sodium can vary significantly.


Looking for even more hydration before your workout? Inspired just dropped Endless RTD, their new hydration drink!

• Potassium Citrate (287mg) is a crucial nutrient often lacking in diets, with an ideal potassium-to-sodium ratio being more important for cardiovascular health than absolute sodium intake, and since reducing sodium is challenging, increasing potassium intake is essential, particularly because of its role in vasodilation.
• Magnesium Citrate (169mg), essential for numerous biochemical reactions including energy production and maintaining arterial health, is increasingly lacking in modern diets, leading to potential issues like fatigue and impaired cardiovascular function, making supplementation a wise choice.
• Fructooligosaccharides (75mg) are short-chain fructose carbohydrates that enhance hydration by improving mineral uptake, act as prebiotic fiber for gut health, and add a sweet taste to supplements.

DARK: Mind/Muscle Sync Module

• L-Tyrosine (1,000mg), an amino acid and precursor to neurotransmitters like dopamine, adrenaline, and noradrenaline, enhances focus, motivation, and energy, suppresses appetite, optimizes thyroid function, and is particularly effective in restoring cognitive function in sleep-deprived individuals, outperforming even caffeine.
• CoLean (500mg), essential for cell membrane health and a precursor to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, is crucial for learning, memory consolidation, and fat burning, with a deficiency potentially leading to muscle, organ, and liver damage, addressed by CoLean, a blend of bioavailable choline forms.
• DMAE DL-Bitartrate (500mg) is a choline-like nootropic that enhances choline’s effectiveness by stimulating choline receptors, sparing choline for the central nervous system, and potentially stabilizing mood and normalizing brain wave activity, effectively functioning as a choline level booster.

Every Last Drop: Absorption Protocol

• Bioperine (5mg), a black pepper extract standardized for piperine, enhances the bioavailability of other nutritional supplements by inhibiting digestive enzymes and upregulating GLUT4, thereby aiding in glucose disposal, liver health, and combating oxidative stress.

Other Ingredients

• Vitamin C (200mg), known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, is crucial for the highly vitamin C-concentrated adrenal glands, which deplete the vitamin under stress, making its replenishment important for those undergoing demanding training regimens.
• Vitamin B3 (20mg), essential for NAD+ production, is vital in a pre-workout for supporting energy metabolism, liver detoxification, and DNA repair, while also increasing adiponectin to enhance insulin sensitivity, boost calorie burn, and reduce inflammation in adipose tissue, potentially causing a mild flushing effect.
• Vitamin B12 (1,000mcg) acts as a methyl donor to support metabolic processes, increases energy levels, and helps reduce muscle damage.

Again, read our article titled “Inspired Nutra DVST8 Dark Illuminade: Fruity Lemonade Flavor“ for all scientific references.

All Inspired DVST8 Dark flavors

Check out our up-to-date list of DVST8 Dark flavors below:

Be sure to check out the special Killaid version of DVST8 Dark as well.

Delicious flavor for an intense formula

With so many ingredients contained in DVST8 Dark, it must have been quite the challenge for Inspired to effectively flavor the supplement. They’ve managed to crack the code with Illuminade.

Wrapped in an easy RTD package, Illuminade is a light, simple-to-drink take on strawberry lemonade that will have you forgetting you’re drinking an insane pre-workout… Until it starts to kick in.