Tart cherry and pomegranate supplementations enhance recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage: a systematic review

Abstract

Phenolic compounds have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and may prevent inflammation and oxidative stress as well as help the athletes to recover from exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD). Tart cherry (TC) and pomegranate (PG) are two fruits with high content of polyphenols. Their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties have recently attracted substantial interest for their potential to reduce strength loss and promote recovery from EIMD. The aims of this review are (1) to summarise the effects of tart cherry and pomegranate supplementation on oxidative stress, inflammation and recovery, and (2) to outline the differences found in supplementation with tart cherries or pomegranates. SPORTDiscus, PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus were searched according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis and 25 studies were included. The existing evidence suggests that both types of supplementation are good strategies to accelerate recovery of functional performance variables, perceptual variables and inflammation but PG supplementation shows better recovery of oxidative stress. However, positive effects are more likely: 1) when supplementation starts some days before muscle damage is induced and finishes some days after, for a total period of at least 8/10 days, 2) with pronounced muscle damage of the muscles involved, and 3) when total phenolic content is at least 1000 mg/day. This review may help to optimise TC or PG supplementation practice to improve post-exercise recovery.

Improved Strength Recovery and Reduced Fatigue with Suppressed Plasma Myostatin Following Supplementation of a Vicia faba Hydrolysate, in a Healthy Male Population

“…For example, IL-6 is a major regulator of myogenesis, and acute IL-6 expression can increase protein synthesis, satellite cell proliferation and can lead to an anti-inflammatory signalling cascade [ 47 ]. In similar previous studies, tart cherry [ 10 , 29 ] and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids [ 8 ] were shown to have an overall treatment effect on attenuating IL-6 compared to placebo, whereas lemon verbena [ 9 ] and pomegranate did not produce treatment effects [ 45 ]. Interestingly, in the present study, IL-6 expression was transiently increased at 0 h post-EIMD in the NPN_1 group, which may aid in the improved strength recovery observed.…”

“…Myostatin was significantly suppressed in the NPN_1 group compared to placebo over the course of the trial, as was the release of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) in the NPN_1 group at 0 and 2 h. These combined data indicate clinical evidence of attenuation of muscle breakdown with NPN_1 supplementation [ 43 , 44 ], albeit further work is required to identify the minimal clinically important difference in muscle strength recovery and NPN_1 supplementation in a powered trial. In this respect, it is difficult to compare the effect of NPN_1 supplementation on myostatin to other nutritional interventions such as tart cherry, pomegranate and lemon verbena, as many studies into effects on EIMD focus on inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers rather than muscle health biomarkers [ 9 , 45 , 46 ]. It is known that acute transient inflammation promotes healing of healthy skeletal muscle [ 47 ].…”

Green Tea and Black Tea for Exercise Recovery: A Systematic Review

“…Numerous nutrients and functional foods have been investigated to help reduce EIMD and accelerate recovery. A recent systematic review demonstrated that tart cherry or pomegranate supplementation are effective nutritional strategies to promote recovery after EIMD including oxidative stress, inflammation, and muscle function (45). Supplementation with cocoa flavonols has also been shown to reduce exercise-induced oxidative stress (11).…”

“…There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that functional food-based supplements rich in polyphenols can reduce exercise-induced oxidative stress and inflammation and result in accelerated exercise recovery (7,11,45). The promotion of foods with potential anti-inflammatory properties (cocoa, cherries, pomegranate, blueberries, tea, coffee, grapes, and nuts) is widespread on the internet and social media outlets, and these functional foods and supplements are growing in popularity among athletes and fitness enthusiasts (46,49).…”

Five Days of Tart Cherry Supplementation Improves Exercise Performance in Normobaric Hypoxia

“…It should be noted that these studies were conducted only under normoxia [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Another distinctive advantage of TC supplementation has been proposed to reduce subset of oxidative stress markers [ 7 , 8 ]. However, whether this property would improve exercise performance seems to be uncertain.…”