The Effect of Aspalathus Linearis on Muscle Soreness and Post-exercise Recovery in Young, Physically Inactive Women

NCT06561750 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: CME2022/054
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 12
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Exercise has been found to exert beneficial effect on overall health. However, it also induces muscle damage at the same time. This then leads to muscle pain, temporary inflammation and reduced muscle function. These symptoms can persist for up to 72 hours after physical exertion and thus have a negative impact on a speedy recovery. Research has previously shown that antioxidants play an important role in muscle recovery after physical exertion. For example, antioxidants are known to have a positive effect on muscle damage and muscle soreness, and they also provide an anti-inflammatory effect. An important group of antioxidants are the flavonoids, which are abundantly present in rooibos (aspalathus linearis) tea. Previous research has shown that rooibos tea has a performance-enhancing effect during physical exertion. Despite these positive findings during physical exertion, the effect of rooibos tea on muscle recovery is not yet well known. Moreover, the effects of antioxidants during and after physical exertion have almost only been studied in men. Therefore, the current study will investigate the effects of rooibos tea on inflammation, muscle damage and muscle pain in a female population, and whether the muscle recovery capacity can ultimately be accelerated.

Conditions

Inflammation; Muscle Recovery; Muscle Soreness

Keywords

Aspalathus linearis; Rooibos

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• Change in Serum creatine kinase from Baseline to 72 hours

  Blood samples will be collected at baseline and 72 hours

  Baseline and 72 hours

• Change in perceived muscle soreness from Baseline to 72 hours

  A 10 point analogue scale will be used to assess the muscle soreness. The ratings on the scale are 0 = "no soreness or pain", 2 = "mild annoying pain", 4 = "Nagging, uncomfortable troublesome pain", 6 = "Distressing, miserable pain", 8 = "Intense, dreadful pain", and 10 = "the worst possible, unbearable, excruciating pain"

  Baseline and 72 hours

• Change in perceived muscle recovery from Baseline to 72 hours

  The perceived exercise recovery will be assessed using the Perceived recovery status (PRS) scale. The PRS scale rates recovery from exercise from 1 to 10 with 1-3 representing poor recovery and anticipating poor performance, 4-6 consisting of moderate recovery and expecting normal performance, and 7-10 representing high recovery and expecting increased performance

  Baseline and 72 hours

• Change in Tumor Necrosis Factor -alpha (TNF-α) from Baseline to 72 hours

  Blood samples will be collected at Baseline and 72 hours

  Baseline and 72 hours

• Change in interleukin-6 (IL-6) from Baseline to 72 hours

  Blood samples will be collected at Baseline and 72 hours

  Baseline and 72 Hours

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Change in swelling at the quadriceps muscle from Baseline to 72 hours

  Baseline and 72 hours

• Change in quadriceps contractile muscle functioning from Baseline to 72 hours

  Baseline and 72 hours

Study Arms (2)

Rooibos

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in the AG will consume the test drink (12 g per 1200 ml of pure green rooibos tea). Participants will be asked to return after 24, 48 and 72 hours of the exercise. During each visit, the baseline measurements, perceived muscle soreness and muscle recovery will be repeated.

Other: Rooibos tea

Control

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Participants in the control group will be asked to drink 1200 ml of water since rooibos has a very unique taste

Other: Control

Interventions

Rooibos tea OTHER

Participants will be subjected to 12 g of rooibos tea per 1200 ml of freshly boiled water

Rooibos

Control OTHER

Participants will be subjected to 12 g per 1200 ml of freshly boiled water which is equivalent to 6 cups of tea

Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 30 Years
• Sex: female
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Being a woman
• Aged between 18-30 years
• Must not engage regularly in more than 2 organized resistance training session per week or more than 5 h physical activity per week for the previous six months.
• Answer "NO" to the seven questions of the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire plus (PAR-Q+) (Appendix B).

You may not qualify if:

• Pregnant or lactating
• Medication or undesirable alcohol consumption (\>2 drinks per day) and smoking
• Have any medical condition that can have a serious impact on their ability to exercise or report acute illness, chronic disease or any other medical problems during the health screening (Appendix A) session that did not necessarily exclude them from physical activity by the PAR-Q+
• Currently using or have used vitamin and/or antioxidant supplementation for the last 2 months.
• Has a history of clotting disorders and are currently on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or anti-coagulants

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Hasselt University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Biomedical Research Institute, Hasselt University

Hasselt, Limburg, 3500, Belgium

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Sousa M, Teixeira VH, Soares J. Dietary strategies to recover from exercise-induced muscle damage. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2014 Mar;65(2):151-63. doi: 10.3109/09637486.2013.849662. Epub 2013 Nov 4.

  PMID: 24180469 BACKGROUND

• Marnewick JL, Rautenbach F, Venter I, Neethling H, Blackhurst DM, Wolmarans P, Macharia M. Effects of rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) on oxidative stress and biochemical parameters in adults at risk for cardiovascular disease. J Ethnopharmacol. 2011 Jan 7;133(1):46-52. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2010.08.061. Epub 2010 Sep 15.

  PMID: 20833235 BACKGROUND

• Eijnde BO, Van Leemputte M, Brouns F, Van Der Vusse GJ, Labarque V, Ramaekers M, Van Schuylenberg R, Verbessem P, Wijnen H, Hespel P. No effects of oral ribose supplementation on repeated maximal exercise and de novo ATP resynthesis. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2001 Nov;91(5):2275-81. doi: 10.1152/jappl.2001.91.5.2275.

  PMID: 11641371 BACKGROUND

• Laurent CM, Green JM, Bishop PA, Sjokvist J, Schumacker RE, Richardson MT, Curtner-Smith M. A practical approach to monitoring recovery: development of a perceived recovery status scale. J Strength Cond Res. 2011 Mar;25(3):620-8. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181c69ec6.

  PMID: 20581704 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Inflammation; Myalgia

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Muscular Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Neuromuscular Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Musculoskeletal Pain; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Daniel Afrifa

  Hasselt University (HasseltU)

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Model Details: After undergoing a BIODEX exercise program to induce muscle soreness, participants will be randomised into 2 groups; the control and the aspalathus linearis groups. The Control group will be subjected to water while the aspalathus linearis group will be subjected to the rooibos tea

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 12, 2024
• First Posted: August 20, 2024
• Study Start: November 1, 2023
• Primary Completion: January 30, 2024
• Study Completion: January 30, 2024
• Last Updated: August 20, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF
• Time Frame: After collection of data, it will be available for a maximum of 5 years
• Access Criteria: Information will be shared with editors of the journal with which the data will be published. Researchers and individuals who may need the data for academic purposes may have to contact the investigator, the Biomedical Research Institute, Hasselt University for permission.

Locations

BE (1)