Analysis of Effectiveness of a Supplement Combining Harpagophytum procumbens, Zingiber officinale and Bixa orellana in Healthy Recreational Runners with Self-Reported Knee Pain: A Pilot, Randomized, Triple-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Abstract

Recreational running (RR) is becoming a popular way to increase physical activity for improving health, together with a higher incidence of knee injuries. The aim was to analyze the effect of a four-week supplementation with a mixture of Harpagophytum procumbens, Zingiber officinale and Bixa orellana on males, middle-aged, RR with an undiagnosed knee discomfort. A randomized triple-blind placebo-control trial was conducted among male RR aged 40–60 years suffering from self-declared knee discomfort after training. Participants were assigned to supplementation (2 g/day in 6 doses; n = 13; intervention group (IG)) or matched placebo (n = 15; control group (CG)) for 4 weeks. At pre- and post-intervention, assessment of routine blood biomarkers, body composition, running biomechanics and body temperature was performed using standardized procedures. Machine learning (ML) techniques were used to classify whether subjects belonged to IG or CG. ML model was able to correctly classify individuals as IG or CG with a median accuracy of 0.857. Leg fat mass decreased significantly (p = 0.037) and a deeper reduction in knee thermograms was observed in IG (p < 0.05). Safety evaluation revealed no significant differences in the rest of parameters studied. Subjects belonging to IG or CG are clearly differentiated, pointing into an effect of the supplement of ameliorating inflammation.

The Fight against Infection and Pain: Devil’s Claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) a Rich Source of Anti-Inflammatory Activity: 2011–2022

“…The database on the study showed a significant reduction in leg fat mass ( p = 0.037) and knee thermograms noticeable in IG ( p < 0.05). No differences were found in the overall safety and the efficacy of H. procumbens mixtures as an anti-inflammatory nutritional supplement [ 76 ]. Mariano et al [ 38 ] investigated the antiarthritic properties of H. procumbens root extract and molecular mechanisms, as well as bioactive compounds.…”

Can Adipose Tissue Influence the Evaluation of Thermographic Images in Adolescents?

“…Furthermore, we elaborated a normative table to establish the thermal profile of the adolescents based on the %BF for each ROI analyzed. For this, we used the percentiles (P) as a reference to classify if an ROI was "strongly hypo-radiant" (P < 5), "hypo-radiant" (P The thermograms were automatically analyzed with ThermoHuman ® software version 2.12 (PEMA THERMO GROUP S.L., Madrid, Spain), a validated system [30,31] that has been used in other studies with human population [32][33][34]. The software provides mean Tsk and standard deviation values and the number of pixels, which are automatically quantified in 48 ROI for the upper body and 36 ROI for the lower body.…”

“…After 10 min, following the methodology of Yasuoka et al [29], they were asked to report the thermal sensation (TS) on a 9-point scale (+4, very hot; +3, hot; +2, warm; +1, slightly warm; 0, neutral; −1, slightly cool; −2, cool; −3, cold; −4 very cold) and the comfort sensation (CS) on a 7-point scale (+3, very comfortable; +2, comfortable; +1, slightly comfortable; 0, neutral; −1, slightly uncomfortable; −2, uncomfortable; −3, very uncomfortable). The thermograms were automatically analyzed with ThermoHuman ® software version 2.12 (PEMA THERMO GROUP S.L., Madrid, Spain), a validated system [30,31] that has been used in other studies with human population [32][33][34]. The software provides mean Tsk and standard deviation values and the number of pixels, which are automatically quantified in 48 ROI for the upper body and 36 ROI for the lower body.…”