Montmorency cherry supplement does not affect aerobic exercise performance in healthy men

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Exercise Physiology
• Nutritional Biochemistry

Background:

• Dietary nitrate supplementation is explored for enhancing exercise performance.
• Montmorency cherry (MC) is a potential source of nitrates and antioxidants.
• The effects of short-term MC supplementation on physiological markers of exercise are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of short-term Montmorency cherry (MC) supplementation on exercise performance.
• To assess changes in total blood nitrate levels following MC ingestion.
• To evaluate the effects on muscle oxygenation and oxygen uptake (VO2) kinetics during cycling.

Main Methods:

• A randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over design was employed with 12 healthy male participants.
• Participants supplemented with MC or placebo (PL) for six days.
• Exercise performance was assessed via cycling at 70% of VO2 peak, with muscle oxygenation measured by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy.

Main Results:

• No significant differences were observed in blood nitrate levels between MC and PL groups at any time point (pre-exercise, post-exercise).
• Muscle oxygenation, measured in the vastus lateralis, showed no significant alterations between treatments.
• Time to respiratory compensation point and other measures of exercise performance did not differ between the MC and PL conditions.

Conclusions:

• Short-term Montmorency cherry supplementation does not appear to increase blood nitrate levels in healthy males.
• MC ingestion did not enhance muscle oxygenation or alter oxygen uptake kinetics during moderate-intensity cycling exercise.
• This study suggests no ergogenic effect of short-term MC supplementation on the measured physiological parameters of exercise performance.