Abstract
Purpose
Nutrition has been increasingly recognized as a key component to optimal sports performance. Though several botanical agents have been reported to possess ergogenic potential, there exists a great interest for tasty and safe natural substances as performance boosters. In the present contribution, the ergogenic potential of a novel powder form of coconut inflorescence sap (CSP) was investigated for the first time.
Method
Out of the fourteen participants recruited, twelve recreationally active men completed the single-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study for 8 weeks. Running based anaerobic sprint test (RAST) and 2.4 km running test were performed as anaerobic and aerobic tests, respectively. In arm 1, the participants were received with either placebo (200 mL water containing 400 mg aspartame/day) or CSP (3 g in 200 mL water/day) for 21 days. After the washout period, arm 2 was performed with a reversed treatment regime. VO2 max was estimated using a predictive formula.
Results
The primary outcome showed a significant enhancement in peak power and mean power (peak power from 3.67 W/kg b. wt. to 5.38 W/kg b. wt.; mean power from 3.47 W/kg b. wt. to 5.06 W/kg b. wt.). A significant (p < 0.001) increase in VO2 max among CSP condition compared to the placebo was observed (from 59.38 ± 2.15 mL/kg/min to 62.56 ± 0.52 mL/kg/min). Further, serum analysis revealed enhanced antioxidant status and reduced lactate dehydrogenase (p < 0.01) levels without any significant changes (p > 0.05) in safety parameters.
Conclusion
It was concluded that CSP possesses significant ergogenic effect and may find wide application as a natural ingredient for sports nutrition and energy drinks.
Trial Registration
The study was registered in Clinical Trial Registry of India (Reg No.: CTRI/2018/03/012551 dated 13/03/2018).
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-29-2021
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nfs.2021.03.002
Repository Citation
Joseph, Ashish; Jose, Svenia P.; Kalyan, Bintu T.; Mammen, Renny R.; Krishnakumar, I. M.; Fleenor, Bradley S.; and Mohan, Ratheesh, "Coconut Inflorescence Sap Enhances Exercise Performance and Plasma Antioxidant Status in Young Active Men" (2021). Kinesiology and Health Promotion Faculty Publications. 24.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/khp_facpub/24
Notes/Citation Information
Published in NFS Journal, v. 23.
© 2021 The Authors
This is an open access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).