Effects of powdered Montmorency tart cherry supplementation on an acute bout of intense lower body strength exercise in resistance trained males

Background: the purpose of this study was to examine whether short-term ingestion of a powdered tart cherry supplement prior to and following intense resistance-exercise attenuates muscle soreness and recovery strength loss,while reducing markers of muscle damage,inflammation,and oxidative stress. methods: twenty-three healthy,resistance-trained men (20.9 ± 2.6 yr,14.2 ± 5.4 % body fat,63.9 ± 8.6 kg ffm) were matched based on relative maximal back squat strength,age,body weight,and fat free mass. subjects were randomly assigned to ingest,in a double blind manner,capsules containing a placebo (p,n = 12) or powdered tart cherries [cherrypure®] (tc,n = 11). participants supplemented one time daily (480 mg/d) for 10-d including day of exercise up to 48-h post-exercise. subjects performed ten sets of ten repetitions at 70 % of a 1-rm back squat exercise. fasting blood samples,isokinetic mvcs,and quadriceps muscle soreness ratings were taken pre-lift,60-min,24-h,and 48-h post-lift and analyzed by manova with repeated measures. results: muscle soreness perception in the vastus medialis (1/4) (p = 0.10) and the vastus lateralis (1/4) (p = 0.024) was lower in tc over time compared to p. compared to pre-lift,tc vastus medialis (1/4) soreness was significantly attenuated up to 48-h post-lift with vastus lateralis (1/4) soreness significantly lower at 24-h post-lift compared to p. tc changes in serum creatinine (p = 0.03,delta p = 0.024) and total protein (p = 0.018,delta p = 0.006) were lower over time and smaller from pre-lift levels over time compared to p significant tc group reductions from pre-lift levels were found for ast and creatinine 48-h post-lift,bilirubin and alt 60-min and 48-h post-lift. no significant supplementation effects were observed for serum inflammatory or anti-inflammatory markers. none of the free radical production,lipid peroxidation,or antioxidant capacity markers (nt,tbars,tas,sod) demonstrated significant changes with supplementation. changes in tc whole blood lymphocyte counts (p = 0.013) from pre-lift were greater compared to p,but tc lymphocyte counts returned to pre-lift values quicker than p. conclusion: short-term supplementation of montmorency powdered tart cherries surrounding a single bout of resistance exercise,appears to be an effective dietary supplement to attenuate muscle soreness,strength decrement during recovery,and markers of muscle catabolism in resistance trained individuals. © 2015 levers et al.