The Efficacy of Chlorella Supplementation on Health and Performance Following a 12-week Training Programme

Algae are an emerging functional food source that are gaining traction and popularity in biopharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and biotechnology industries. They are a diverse and complex species that comprise an abundant breadth of micronutrients (multiple vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and amino acids) that can possibly promote human health. One such popular algae is chlorella, a unicellular dark green organism, which can be readily bought in health stores worldwide. Although there is some promising data to suggest chlorella supplementation can alleviate cardiovascular risk factors and improve VO2max from supplementation alone, an area which has particularly limited existing literature is the possible ergogenic and health influence of chlorella supplementation combined with a controlled training programme in sedentary and overweight populations. Given that such populations are susceptible to increased risk of developing associated diseases (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension) and possess poor diets, there is a need to investigate the possible synergistic effect of a training programme and supplementation of algae further. Furthermore, there is growing evidence to suggest that supplementation with algae may have a beneficial effect on cognitive function, primarily owed to antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Therefore, the purpose of this study aims to assess the efficacy of chlorella supplementation on VO2max, blood lipid profiles, cognitive function and body composition following a 12-week training programme. Briefly, in a double blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial, participants will be randomly allocated into 1 of 4 groups (A. Exercise + Chlorella, B. Exercise + Placebo, C. Control + Chlorella, D. Control + Placebo).