The effect of dietary anthocyanins on biochemical, physiological, and subjective exercise recovery: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Anthocyanins (ACN), the sub-class of (poly)phenols responsible for the red-blue-purple pigmentation of fruit and vegetables, have gained considerable interest in sport and exercise research due to their potential to facilitate exercise recovery. A systematic literature search was performed using PubMed, The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus and CINAHL. Thirty nine studies were included and the standardized mean difference (Hedges g) for creatine kinase (CK), anti-oxidative and inflammatory markers, strength, power and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) indices were pooled in separate meta-analyses; meta-regression was also performed on reported ACN dose. Immediately post-exercise there was an increase in antioxidant capacity (g: 0.56) and reduced C reactive protein (g: À0.24) and tumor necrosis factor a (g: À40); p 0.02. Strength was improved with ACN at all time points (g: 0.45-0.67). DOMS (g: À0.23) was lower 24 hours postexercise and power was improved 24 hours (g: 0.62) and 48 hours (g: 0.57) post exercise. The CK was lower 48 hours post-exercise (g: À0.31) and there was a trend for a positive association with ACN dose (p ¼ 0.057). This systematic review provides new data showing ACN-rich foods promote functional and subjective recovery likely due to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of ACN.

Improved Endurance Running Performance Following Haskap Berry (Lonicera caerulea L.) Ingestion

“…Previous investigations have consistently demonstrated positive effects of anthocyanin and (poly)phenol-rich foods on indices of oxidative stress, inflammation and muscle recovery [5,[15][16][17]. A recent systematic review with meta-analysis demonstrated antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and functional recovery properties [44] following consumption of anthocyanin-rich foods; however, the data on exercise performance is relatively small and far less clear (Myburgh, 2014). Importantly to this study, a systematic review with meta-analysis [45], showed that the use of phenolics for a minimum of seven days increased exercise performance by 1.90% (95% CI 0.40-3.39), which is in close agreement to the performance improvements (2.2%) seen with Haskap berry when compared to a placebo control in the time to exhaustion during the .…”

Anthocyanins in Chronic Diseases: The Power of Purple

“…Fruit-derived anthocyanins at doses of 8–3600 mg/day for up to 8 weeks reduced these responses to exercise and increased NO production to improve vascular function and muscle oxygenation. In addition, functional and subjective recovery after exercise was improved by anthocyanins probably due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects [ 262 ].…”

Should We ‘Eat a Rainbow’? An Umbrella Review of the Health Effects of Colorful Bioactive Pigments in Fruits and Vegetables

“…The highest category of anthocyanin intake was associated with a decreased risk of CVD (RR 0.82; 95% CI 0.70, 0.96) [76], CHD (RR 0.90; 95% CI 0.83, 0.98) [74], CVD mortality (RR 0.92; 95% CI 0.87, 0.97) [100], hypertension (RR 0.92; 95% CI 0.88, 0.97) [86] and esophageal cancer (OR 0.60; 95% CI 0.49, 0.74) [87]. However, no association was found with risk of stroke [100], or multiple cancers including breast, liver, lung, pancreatic or gastric [83,84,101] (Table S8).…”

“…Thirty-three of the n = 67 (49%) RCT MAs reported improved inflammatory, oxidative, lipid, or glycemic markers (e.g., adiponectin, apolipoprotein A1/B, CRP, fasting glucose, HbA1c, HOMA-IR, LDL and HDL cholesterol, interleukin-6, TNF-alpha, triglycerides, see Table S8 for full list) [26,[101][102][103][104], as well as vascular reactivity (SMD 0.77; 95% CI 0.37, 1.16) [105] and BMI (SMD −0.36 kg/m 2 ; 95% CI −0.58, −0.13) [27]. No improvements were found for liver enzymes [106], uric acid, blood pressure [107], waist circumference [107], delayed onset muscle soreness [101] or vascular stiffness [105].…”