Effect of Supplementation With Euterpe Edulis on the Physical and Mental Performance of Healthy Men Subjecting to Physical Exercise
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Not yet recruiting
- Sponsor
- Enrollment
- 20
- Primary Endpoint
- Changes in mental capacity - Simple reaction psychomotor test
Study Overview
Brief Summary
The study aims to evaluate the effect of supplementation with Euterpe edulis on the physical and mental performance, inflammation, muscle recovery, and muscle strength of healthy men submitted to physical exercises. The study will use a double-blind and randomized design, including physical tests, blood sample analysis, and subjective assessments. Participants will receive 250 ml of the juice or a placebo for ten days before the evaluations.
Detailed Description
The Euterpe edulis palm, known as juçara, produces spherical and purple fruits, similar to those of the Euterpe oleracea and Euterpe precatoria palms, from where the popular name açaí originates. The juçara fruit has been gaining prominence in the scientific world for its interesting nutritional composition, rich in antioxidants, and for its sustainable production model. Intermittent high-intensity exercise (HIIE) can improve the anti-inflammatory state. Juçara juice (JFJ) has well-established antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Recently, relevant biological activities have been associated with the fruit of the juçara, and its use in food has become an important nutritional, environmental and economic alternative. The objective of this project is to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of E. edulis juice after physical exercise in physical activity practitioners. This is a clinical trial, double blind, where high intensity physical exercise will be used and evaluated simple reaction psychomotor test, psychomotor test of choice reaction, collection of blood samples for analysis of interleukins and TNF alpha, strength markers, through the use of dynamometer, jump test, functional tests, muscle endurance test and subjective analysis of fatigue. The selection will be simple random probabilistic according to the inclusion criteria: male gender, aged between 19 and 30 years and practitioners of physical activity for at least 3 months 4 x per week, without comorbidities, non-athlete, non-smokers, and BMI < 30. Participants will receive 250 ml of the juice or placebo during 10 days of previous treatment, maintaining the exercise routine. The aminogram of JFJ (250 ml) will be evaluated to understand the amount of essential amino acids and the possibility of classifying the Juçara fruit as a super fruit. It is expected, after supplementation with the aqueous extract of E. edulis, improvement in the physical and mental capacity of the sample that used the JFJ, in addition to a better response in plasma inflammatory biomarkers and antioxidant capacity, resulting in a positive modulation of the inflammatory profile. In addition, we consider an optimization in muscle recovery capacity and objective and subjective increase in muscle strength as an outcome.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Crossover
- Primary Purpose
- Other
- Masking
- Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 19 Years to 30 Years (Adult)
- Sex
- Male
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •Men aged 19 to 30 years, who perform regular physical exercises, in total of 150 min per week, at a minimum of 3 months
Exclusion Criteria
- •Men who use steroids, anabolics, taurine, BCCA, and exogenous supplementation will be excluded.
- •People who have motor problems, cardiovascular changes, have type I and II diabetes, smokers, athletes, cognitive deficits, and psychomotor disorders.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Changes in mental capacity - Simple reaction psychomotor test
Time Frame: The test will be applied on day 1 and 11 of the study, after the period of 10 days drinking Juçara juice. The same methodology will be used in the patients who received the placebo product.
The examined individual should sit in front of the monitor with the index finger of the dominant hand positioned on the sensor (called the ''stand-by key'') located on the control panel. The individual will be instructed to hold their finger on the ''stand-by key'' and move it to the ''reaction key'' as soon as the stimulus (yellow light) appears.
Changes in physical capacity - Jump tests
Time Frame: The jump tests will be applied on day 1 and 11 of the study, after the period of 10 days drinking Juçara juice. The same methodology will be used in the patients who received the placebo product.
The jump tests are used as a measure of explosive strength and muscle power and this methodology will also be used in this research. The effectiveness of strength assessment in the countermovement jump test has already been validated in other clinical studies (CARBAKAPA et al., 2023).
Changes in mental capacity - Psychomotor test of reaction of choice
Time Frame: The test will be applied on day 1 and 11 of the study, after the period of 10 days drinking Juçara juice. The same methodology will be used in the patients who received the placebo product.
One individual was instructed to respond appropriately and as quickly as possible to stimuli appearing on the screen using the upper and lower limbs. Five colored optical stimuli (white, yellow, blue, green, and red) in the form of a circle appeared on the screen, and each circle received its own ''reaction key'' on the control panel that corresponded to the color of the stimulus. The examined individual was asked to respond to the stimulus by pressing the corresponding ''reaction key'' with the right or left hand, and the foot was also instructed to press the right or left pedal whenever a white rectangular light appeared on the black background of the screen. Finally, the test included reaction to acoustic stimuli.
Changes in the modulation of the inflammatory profile - Collection of blood samples and analysis of biomarkers
Time Frame: Blood samples will be collected 1 hour before the high-intensity strength exercise and 1 hour after.
Will be evaluated in the blood samples collected: plasma biomarkers, which include lactate concentration (LA). In plasma, creatine kinase (CK), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and concentrations of testosterone (T), cortisol © and growth hormone (GH) will be analyzed. In addition to serum concentrations of inflammatory biomarkers such as interleukins (IL-6, IL-8, IL10) and TNF-alpha.
Changes in physical capacity - Dynamometer
Time Frame: The dynamometer will be applied on day 1 and 11 of the study, after the period of 10 days drinking Juçara juice. The same methodology will be used in the patients who received the placebo product.
The dynamometer is an instrument used to measure muscle strength objectively. In this study will be used the static dynamometer that demonstrated measurement reliability in other clinical trials (HIRANO et al., 2020; MARTINS et al., 2018).
Changes in physical capacity - Muscular endurance test
Time Frame: The abdominal resistance test will be applied on day 1 and 11 of the study, after the period of 10 days drinking Juçara juice. The same methodology will be used in the patients who received the placebo product.
Muscle endurance tests assess the ability of muscles to sustain a contraction for a prolonged period. In this study will be used the abdominal resistance test, through the plank test, already reproduced effectively in another study (KOUMANTAKIS et al., 2021).
Changes in physical capacity - Functional tests
Time Frame: The 6-minute step test will be applied on day 1 and 11 of the study, after the period of 10 days drinking Juçara juice. The same methodology will be used in the patients who received the placebo product.
Functional tests assess strength in more complex movements related to day-to-day activities. In these studies, the 6-minute step test will be applied, as determined its reliability for the evaluation of muscle strength in a previous study (ARCURI et al., 2016).
Secondary Outcomes
- Subjective change in muscle strength - Subjective analysis of fatigue(The questionnaire will be applied on day 11 of the study, after the period of 10 days drinking Juçara juice and the force tests. The same methodology will be used in the patients who received the placebo product.)