Curcumin and piperine supplementation and recovery following exercise induced muscle damage: A randomized controlled trial

The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of oral consumption of curcumin and piperine in combination on the recovery kinetics after exercise-induced muscle damage. fortyeight hours before and following exercise-induced muscle damage,ten elite rugby players consumed curcumin and piperine (experimental condition) or placebo. a randomized cross-over design was performed. concentric and isometric peak torque for the knee extensors,one leg 6 seconds sprint performance on a non-motorized treadmill,counter movement jump performance,blood creatine kinase concentration and muscle soreness were assessed immediately after exercise,then at 24h,48h and 72h post-exercise. there were moderate to large effects of the exercise on the concentric peak torque for the knee extensors (effect size (es) = -1.12; confidence interval at 90% (ci90%): -2.17 to -0.06),the one leg 6 seconds sprint performance (es=-1.65; ci90% = -2.51to -0.80) and the counter movement jump performance (es = -0.56; ci90% = -0.81 to -0.32) in the 48h following the exercise. there was also a large effect of the exercise on the creatine kinase level 72h after the exercise in the control group (es = 3.61; ci90%: 0.24 to 6.98). this decrease in muscle function and this elevation in creatine kinase indicate that the exercise implemented was efficient to induce muscle damage. twenty four hours post-exercise,the reduction (from baseline) in sprint mean power output was moderately lower in the experimental condition (-1.77 ± 7.25%; 1277 ± 153w) in comparison with the placebo condition (-13.6 ± 13.0%; 1130 ± 241w) (effect size = -1.12; confidence interval 90%=-1.86 to -0.86). however,no other effect was found between the two conditions. curcumin and piperine supplementation before and after exercise can attenuate some,but not all,aspects of muscle damage. © journal of sports science and medicine.